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Opening Arguments

Unfit for service

Shameful and inexcusable:

At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely to be suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests.

Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.

[. . .]

Unlike PTSD, which the Army regards as a treatable mental disability caused by the acute stresses of war, the military designation of a personality disorder can have devastating consequences for soldiers.

Defined as a "deeply ingrained maladaptive pattern of behavior," a personality disorder is considered a "pre-existing condition" that relieves the military of its duty to pay for the person's health care or combat-related disability pay.

People are screened both physically and mentally before going into the military, right? So all of these "pre-existing conditions" should have been caught.

Posted in: Current Affairs

Comments

Bob G.
Mon, 08/16/2010 - 1:42pm

Leo:
We know only too well how the miltary does it's physical screenings...
They look down your throat, in your ears, and look up your...unmentionables.
They leave no stone unturned.
(and that was during an active draft)

They do ask questions, too (who knew?)
And today, with ALL the new tech the military has available, they MISS all this stuff???

No way..something more to this.
And yes, some D/Ds might just be in order.

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