Should the UK make an Army Penal Regiment for thugs that carry guns and knives.

The army would certainly knock them into shape and order and teach them some respect and some of the hard core army guys would love to take on these smart alecks who think they are so tough. I think army enlistment could sort out a lot of our problem citizens before they reach the point of prison sentences and straighten them out, give them the self respect and the respect for others and life that they seem to be lacking. I don't necessarily think we should send them to war though as I don't think they are responsible enough to take on that task but think they could benefit from the order, routine and training of the army.

We need to look at the reasons our society is producing “thugs” as you call them. People don’t come out of the womb carrying knives or guns so we need to look at what happens to babies, children, teenagers that makes them feel the need to go around “defending themselves” because that’s what they often say they are doing.
We are supposed to be helping ( VERY questionable) the people of Iraq and Afghanistan would it help them to send in people who appear to value life so little.
I think not.

I agree with 'magnius' regarding the arming of already dangerous idiots and putting them alongside our professional army in a combat zone and under pressure - rediculous! The idea of a 'penal regiment' within the army could work, similar to 'boot camps' but the thugs would actually serve time, and be controlled with old-style military discipline (I noticed before leaving service that some aspects of training and discipline had softened quite a lot!). Strangely enough the German Army in WW2 had penal regiments, many filled by Russian Prisoners from the Eastern Front, they were not armed and their main role was to walk/run through the allied defensive minefields to set off mines and allow the germans through unscathed!

yes it would be fun

I wouldn't want to lead this rabble, you shout an order at them that they don't like and they are likely to shoot you in the back

a good idea but would you want these mindless thugs defending our country in a crisis?

That’s a good idea, arm senseless thugs with an arsenal of weapons and send them into a war zone, that won’t cause any problems will it. (In case you did not realise, that was sarcasm). This is the worst idea I have ever heard! Arming dangerous criminals and thugs and sending them into sensitive combat zones is asking for trouble, they will think nothing of using their weapons to rob and possibly even rape civilians in combat zones; it is bad enough that proper soldiers do it, without adding to the problem.