Can Those with Mental Illnesses Serve in the U.S. Military?

is the military
a form of mental Illness????
will any sound healthy Person ever join
Military, Police, Justice????
where will we find sound healthy persons????
can a person not being sound healthy
judge over any person????
who will ask such forbidden questions?
who will allow an answer?

Given the events of yesterday, I think that the timing of this post is insensitive. I think this is an important topic, but I think it would be best covered at a different time.

I should have written more, but a lot of the information at this point is at the “speculation” stage. I know it’s good to cover things early, but we don’t know enough about the people involved to speculate about what happened or how. A lot of misconceptions about people with mental illnesses are built on this kind of speculation in the press.

Though I agree, those with mental illness should not serve in the military, my service in the military was the proudest I’ve felt in my life.
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder while in the military and subsequently discharged. It was a devastating period in my life, but I understand the reasoning.
Looking back, I know I could not carry out the duties required of me having experienced the highs and lows this illness has taken me through.
However, the Dept of Defense does employ civilians with mental illnesses who support military operations.
To raginald, please explain your cryptic musings.
To beth, regarding the Fort Hood incident, there has been no mention of mental illness as an excuse for these tragic events.
Sane or not, the man lost his mind and killed innocents because he was selfish and couldn’t reconcile his duties with his beliefs.

Additionally, all pilots, whether general aviation or professional, is a disqualifying condition for an FAA physical certificate; therefore, they are unable to fly. My Atypical Bipolar diagnosis immediately ended my career, at the age of 55, with a major airline. I understand and agree with the FAA’s position on this; still, it was a devastating blow to me. My passion, from the age of five, was to fly. I am fortunate that in spite of my mood disorder, I was able to fly 13 years for the Navy and 17.5 years with a major airline before my mood disorder became problematic and diagnosed.

raginald, I don’t understand your apparent cynicism. Is that a symptom of Bipolar?

Seems to me that there should be a re-evaluation of our present military psychologocial counseling team. If the guy wanted out, why wasn’t he allowed out of the service? There was no excuse for this. The guy showed signs of breaking down before he killed these people. Somebody in the military medical department was negligent to allow Hasan to continue to treat fellow military personnel while he himself was a ticking time bomb allowed to explode and kill other military personnel. Somebody was Hasan’s superior and this person should have known Hasan was not fit for duty and allowed him to be discharged from the service. Hasan’s superior officer should be held accountable for this violent rampage of a sick man. Hasan was sick and he showed signs of mental illness prior to his rampage.

did any American listen to that???
is what we see today
a consequence???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE58Y2LETAs

My son has had a mental illness since age nine suffering with depression. At age eighteen he was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder I. Keeping him complaint on his medication was a struggle particularly after puberty. With an IQ of 142 people had difficulty believing he had a mental disorder. In March of 2001 he announced he was cured of his MI and against our wishes and his family doctors wishes he joined the Navy. Our son naturally scorned high on all entrance exams but told his recruiting officer he had been on medication for Bipolar disorder in the past. The officer asked him if he was currently on medication and our son said no, the officer said well then put NO on the application. In essence the recruiting officer encourage our son to lie on a government form. After six short months our son was hospitalized with a sever manic episode, actually the worst he has ever had. The military contacted us and we told them he had Bipolar disorder and he was discharged with a dishonorable discharge. When I contacted his CO he told him the Charlotte recruiting officer told him not to enter the information regarding his Bipolar disorder, the CO told me it was not the recruiting officers obligation to tell the truth that it was our sons. The CO further added that we were lucky the Navy did not prosecute our son and lock him in the brig! Since our sons discharge from the Navy (of which he loved) his life has gone down hill as he truly felt a failure. In light of the tragedy at Ft. Hood the military must start to take some responsibility for their actions and obligations to society.

The Armed Forcesbehaviour makeup is one of high stress, unexpected outcomes, uncertainty at all times. I think this is not a sound environment for someone with mood disorders.

raginald, you’re an ass

I have a job that is stressful and it sometimes gets the better of my health. I think being in the military would be very unhealthy because of its intensity (even on a base…not on the line of fire). My (and everyone’s) health is my number one priority. Without it, I can’t “be all that I can be”.
I am curious. I’ve met 4 men who were in the service and then were discharged because they “became” schizophrenic. None of them was on combat duty. What would make that happen? I thought that schizophrenia appeared in younger people.

A lot of people talk to me about returning to nursing even though I have explained why this is not going to happen. I was able to barely function for several years before a manic episode caused me to make decisions that were completely against my true nature and put the patients I was caring for in danger. I care enough about the patients I would have cared for if I continued nursing to surrender my license. I did it because I didn’t want to land in a place of my illness where I could fool myself and others that I was safe and get another nursing position. I could truly endanger someone due to poor judgement, delusional thinking, impulsiveness, and all the other lovely stuff that goes with bipolar disorder. If you have a psychiatric disorder you have to be honest with your limits. Do you really think it is safe for you and the innocent people you will come in contact with to stop your meds and then put yourself in such a stressful situation such as boot camp or fighting in a war? Knowing that stress is high up on the list triggers of a psychiatric crisis? Without meds & proper support? It’s just irresponsible. Putting your own life in danger is one thing (even though you would be hurting loved ones) but knowingly putting innocent people in danger is just wrong.

Janice,
Had a very similiar situation with my daughter and the ARMY. She informed us about joining the Army. A total surprise, as she had been accelerated classes in HS and College. All this happened in a matter of a few weeks. When she said that she was signing final papers at the local recruiter’s office in a few days, I took it upon myself to confront the recruiter. I advised him that she was being treated for bipolar. His response was,” Once she signs those papers, she’s the Army problem, not mine!” I asked him if he was going to advise the Army of our conversation, to which he replied,” She’s over 18 and is able to decide for herself.” I fired back with, “…she’s manic now and couldn’t make a good decision if her life depended on it.” Needless to say, she entered the Army was accused of being not compliant, unable to follow directions and discharged after 14 weeks of physcial, mental and verbal abuse. They threw her on a bus and sent home a very disturbed young woman who now had post-traumatic stress syndrome on top of bipolar. We were lucky she didn’t do anything harmful to herself or others during that entire period. Since this event, she has gotten and remained on meds and therapy and is doing quite well. My sincerest condolences to the families involved at Ft. Hood. MILITARY WAKE UP AND START SCREENING RECRUITS AND IF A PARENT COMES IN TO FULLY INFORM YOU OF A SITUATION DON’T DISMISS THEM!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!

My son was in the Navy and then the Air Force Reserves where he often served long, stressful hours in support of the Iraq war. In his 19th year, he collapsed mentally. Sure that he was bipolar (I am), he went to the Military psychiatrist. There he was diagnosed ” depressed” and put on anti-depressants. Of course that amplified the problem. The psychiatrist kept prescribing different anti-depressants and wrote in his record that John’s only problem was that he “thought he was bipolar”. Finally my son found a well-respected psychiatrist off base, who saw him pro bono. He, of course, immediately diagnosed him bipolar. Meanwhile, the Air Force kept him on working full-time. The stress was unbearable! John feels the military psychiatrist couldn’t believe someone with bipolar could have severed almost 20 years in the military without previous problems, or maybe he didn’t even recognize the illness. He did retire at 20 years, and now the VA has determined that John is 100% disabled. With the “mistreatment” by the military doctors, no wonder! Even the therapist he was sent to called him “My enigma”. No, the military should never take a person who has a mental illness, and if they do and the illness manifests itself, then they should be responsible!

I am diagnosed Bipolar 1, under doctor’s care, properly medicated, and have been stable for years. My son joined the Marine Corps and came out of boot camp more excited (hypomanic?) than I’ve ever seen him. Since being at his permanent duty station, he has suffered severe suicidal depression. He has also been targeted and (in my opinion, based on the research I’ve done) been a victim of hazing. After he admitted to me that he had a knife at his wrist, he researched Bipolar Disorder on the internet and realized (admitted?) it described him. I told him he MUST talk to a doctor. I told him they would HELP him. Certainly the Marine’s “Core Value of Honor” would honor one of their own, and see that he gets the help he needs. Since seeing a military counselor and a psychiatrist who confirmed my son’s Bipolar 1 diagnosis, he has been treated even worse by the “higher ups” in his infantry unit. They’ve accused of “lying to get out of the Marine Corps, trying to f*#@ the unit,” and instructed the entire unit to ostrisize my son. One of the Marines in his unit died during training from heat exhaustion and another tried to commit suicide. As I understand the military enlistment application has questions regarding childhood ADD, which my son was briefly medicated for in 4th grade. His recruiting officer told him to answer “no.” Is it possible that the military encourages young men and women to deny/lie about their mental illnesses, and not get the proper treatment they need to survive and thrive? Does it foster an atmosphere which can trigger mania, severe depression, and worsen existing conditions? And as my son has told me, he is now being punished for it.

Over 69 years, I have been a family member, and for 40+ years, I was a provider of services. Presently, I am also a consumer formally dianosed with bipolar disorder. During my years as a provider, I worked with a young officer who was attached to a U.S. Air Force base, and was
self-referred. He told me that our counseling sessions had to be in strict confidence, since his military career would be finished if his superiors learned of his receiving any kind of counseling.

I worked for years, but at age 49, my bipolar symptoms forced me to stop. My last suicide attempt was in june & I was hospitalized for 3 weeks. Due to my medication, I am back on track and would like to do volunteer for mentally challenged people or terminally ill children. My boyfriend thinks this is too much for me, but he needs to understand i need to do something valuable with my time or I will become super depressed. also, why is it so hard for someone with bipolar to qualify for disability? i’d appreciate any advice or success stories.

There were signs maybe they were subtle. The suspect had some problems during his internship that he was counselled for. Perhaps, this was something that should have been followed especially when he was told he was going to Iraq. He admantly objected to going- this when he should have had a psych eval. Most of all, he was an outspoken objecter to the wars. I think that should have been enough to get him out of the Army which is what he apparently really wanted. I believe the Army needs to evaluate it mental health workers at least every 6 months and watch for signs mental illness help those that have temporary problems and give those that have major problems a nedical or honorable discharge. In conclusion, the army screwed up.

They already do. I live near the most deployed army base in the nation. While inpatient at our local hospital, I found that probably near half the patients are military and not all of them are being sectioned out following hospitalization (in 2001 they made up maybe a quarter of the patients). These guys and gals are suffering from depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and any number of other mental illnesses. All they seem to talk about while in the hospital is getting out and getting high and/or drunk. Many of them are losing their marriages due to the stresses of the army and having a mental illness. These are good guys. They have put their lives on the line for us, yet they are getting the bum’s rush from the army.

America’s soldiers are great and our Armed Forces (although they’re sometimes fighting the wrong war) are the best in the world.

HOWEVER: understand that military recruiters have quotas to fill and that they’ll pretty much do anything short of clubbing baby seals, to fill those quotas!!! As one who served (and never in a combat zone) before diagnosed with BPD, I am grateful that nothing messed up my life, or that of others.

Regarding the Ft. Hood tragedy, the issue of mental illness has been raised, but that is unfortunately only a smoke screen to prevent open discussion about muslims in the military, I’m afraid. In order to “avoid racism”, the media and politicians will probably just call him a nut, since predjudice against mental health victims is still very much accepted.

Just last week in my abnormal psych class we were discussing the different mood disorders and those most likely to seek treatment. My questions to the instructor was are the psychologist likely to seek treatment if they are experiencing these problems or will they just try to deal with it themselves? Perfect example is Major Hasan, certainly he was having some serious disorder problems and never sought out help. I believe that they should go through some type of yearly mental type exam to make sure they are functioning properly especially if in the military to hopefully avoid these type of tragic incidents. Prayers to the families.

Oh come on. This was an act of terrorism. The guy was Muslim, did not want to have to go fight other Muslims. Instead, he thought it was right for them to kill us. So, when he couldn’t get out of the service (which gave him a very nice, FREE education to take with him), he did what he thought was right…kill the infidels.
Was he disturbed….sure. Should he have been counseling anybody…no. Should the military have picked up on his Jihadist rants…yes. But I think the real bottom line is that he was on a Jihad rampage, no matter what “frame of mind” or “mood” he was in.

I dont understand how they get in the military services, when the principal test to join the army is the MIB (medical report) that indicate when you was treatecdfor any pschiatric or any other condition in your life and that is irrevocable.

They get in because they are encouraged to lie.
It is hard enough to work FOR the military as a civilian (or anywhere else, for that matter), but to add the pressure of military life, discipline, and possibly combat to the life of someone struggling with bipolar is asking for disaster.

As someone with bipolar, I am tired of people assuming that murderous lunatics are always mentally ill. The news outlets often point this out whenever they can. The fact is, there are people who are capable of committing heinous acts without being mentally ill. There are other ‘justifications’, such as racism, religious convictions, revenge, etc.

I would rather know that someone in law enforcement or the military (or anyone with open access to firearms) is able to admit and be treated for mental illness without losing their jobs. Because of these rules against mental illness, they refuse to seek help.

The fact is, about 1 in 10 Americans have a mental disorder. Many of them are in the military. Let’s allow them to be treated rather than kicked out. Obviously, there would be high risk cases where more appropriate action would need to take place, but I believe these would be the exception.

Just my .02

I strongly believe that the increase in suicides among young soldiers not having been deployed is a result of culture. The result of emotional abuse that person has received while serving our country … not the physical training, not the classroom instruction, not the yelling, but perhaps the part where certain soldiers are targeted for verbal abuse. Combine that with sleep depreivation (3 – 4 hours each night) and strict food restrictions and its no surprise. Then to make matters worse they are sent to mental health hospitals where they are put on mind altering drugs with a whole new set of problems.