The military can be a place troubled teens go to find discipline and get their lives back on the straight and narrow. For others their lives of indiscretion and misbehavior continue despite military discipline. This soldier decided to drink alcohol and act stupidly and it may cost him his future.

A teenage soldier and his 21-year-old buddy went on a drunken shoplifting spree. The soldier has lost his job in the military and his pal is going to jail.

The soldier is William Jones who was caught stealing food and alcohol from three different locations last month. The thefts occurred in England according to the Ludlow Advertiser.

At the first store they stole goods valued at £22.50 ($35 US) – a 10-pack of lager, two bottles of lager, a DVD and a sandwich.

After consuming the sub and the beer they needed more supplies and two hours later robbed another One-Stop shop where they took 14 cans of beer worth £14 and 12 cans of alcohol worth £12.

Ten minutes later the 18-year-old former serviceman got the munchies and stole a £3 baguette.

Jones had been serving as a gunner with the Royal Artillery but was discharged from the army.

Jones also has had a problem with substance abuse, including an addiction to mephedrone (known as meow meow) and the army had a zero tolerance policy on drugs.

Jones had been a prominent member of his regiment’s boxing team and appeared to be headed for a nice career in the military. Drugs, alcohol and shoplifting have altered the course of his life. Hopefully he will get a good stop theft class and an alcohol class and get back on the right side of the law. At 18 he still has plenty of time to make something positive of his life.