RALEIGH, N.C. — Two former Blackwater contractors charged with murder had checkered pasts with the military before getting hired to work in Afghanistan.

The military records disclosed in recent court hearings raise questions about the quality of personnel security companies are sending into war zones.

One of the contractors received an other-than-honorable discharge from the Marines after racking up infractions for such violations as unauthorized absence, assault and falsely altering a military ID card. The other was discharged from the Army after going AWOL and testing positive for cocaine.

Both were indicted this month on two counts of second-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons charges for a 2008 shooting along a Kabul road.