• Army lifts ban on waivers for recruits with history of some mental health issues
    49 replies, posted
[t]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/05d371230d4b22469f7979956d847b6160a2a25a/c=119-0-3381-2453&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2017/11/12/USATODAY/USATODAY/636460908869436191-GettyImages-87962359.jpg[/t] [QUOTE]WASHINGTON – People with a history of “self-mutilation,” bipolar disorder, depression and drug and alcohol abuse can now seek waivers to join the Army under an unannounced policy enacted in August, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY. ... But accepting recruits with those mental health conditions in their past carries risks, according to Elspeth Ritchie, a psychiatrist who retired from the Army as a colonel in 2010 and is an expert on waivers for military service. People with a history of mental health problems are more likely to have those issues resurface than those who do not, she said. ... The Army's decision to rescind the ban for a history of mental health problems is in part a reaction to its difficulties in recruiting, Ritchie said. [/QUOTE] [URL="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/12/army-lifts-ban-recruits-history-self-mutilation-other-mental-health-issues/853131001/"]Source[/URL] I'm not sure how I feel about this. I understand they want more recruits, but lowering the bar isn't exactly a good way to do that.
Why? What the fuck why? Like this is one of those common sense things. Don't put people susceptible to mental illiness in high stress high danger environments with weapons? [QUOTE]I'm not sure how I feel about this. I understand they want more recruits, but lowering the bar isn't exactly a good way to do that.[/QUOTE] Bro they threw the bar out of the fuckin window
this can only end well.
This is an awful idea. I understand wanting more recruits but... This is a very poor way of going about it. And I say this as someone with a history of mental illness.
Gee I didn't know the meme about the Army wanting anybody they could get was literally true.
[QUOTE=Some mouthpiece]The Army's decision to rescind the ban for a history of mental health problems is in part a reaction to its difficulties in recruiting, Ritchie said.[/QUOTE] It is a massive organization with such a fuckhuge a budget, [I]perhaps[/I] the "market" for soldier material has become saturated at last? It's like an offshore account not being shoveled into as much as it used to, but still inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Absolutely no reason at all to do this, other than feeding the machine for its own sake. Can't even store all the excess equipment. [I]Perhaps[/I] it could also because many see the sort of shit the government does with the military (Iraq, Vietnam, Nicaragua, etc, etc, etc...) and doesn't want to enable them/be a part of that/start questioning the practices? While the actual individual soldiers are decent human beings for the most part, the US military, as an institution, has gotten a rather bad rep. Unlikely to change with a fuckwit like Trump in charge.
Given that the military wants people to seek help for mental illness, it is probably a good idea to treat mental illness like it does physical injuries. Stop stigmatizing it so people will actually get help for it. This is the right choice.
[QUOTE=GunFox;52886436]Given that the military wants people to seek help for mental illness, it is probably a good idea to treat mental illness like it does physical injuries. Stop stigmatizing it so people will actually get help for it. This is the right choice.[/QUOTE] Let's put people with mental health issues into situations where they can develop more mental health issues.
I don't even see why the US military even needs more recruits, it's not like they are at war.
[QUOTE=GunFox;52886436]Given that the military wants people to seek help for mental illness, it is probably a good idea to treat mental illness like it does physical injuries. Stop stigmatizing it so people will actually get help for it. This is the right choice.[/QUOTE] they're not removing a stigma toward mental illness, they're putting already ill people into more danger, which is then amplified because of their illness. if they wanted to stop stigmatizing mental illness so people would get help for it, then they would make mental health care free. this policy is just for the sake of getting more bodies ready for the inevitable war with ya boy kim.
[QUOTE=jonu67;52886454]I don't even see why the US military even needs more recruits, it's not like they are at war.[/QUOTE] They need to justify their massive budget, feed the military industrial complex etc. We're also unofficially at war in over seven countries.
[QUOTE=jonu67;52886454]I don't even see why the US military even needs more recruits, it's not like they are at war.[/QUOTE] Nor are we really starved for them. We have the third-largest armed forces in the world in terms of active military personnel, and just about all of those are volunteers.
This is a terrible idea. There's already recruits coming in, going to their first units and claiming that they have mental disorders that keep them from doing their job in the infantry. I've seen it happen 5 times in this year alone. It's a waste of everyone's time and is a massive waste of money training these guys just for them to either reclass or leave in under a year. Not only that but it fucks over everybody. A role a new recruit could have filled is wasted and it takes time to wait for a new one. It fucks with training and unit efficiency. It is not a smart idea.
[QUOTE=GunFox;52886436]Given that the military wants people to seek help for mental illness, it is probably a good idea to treat mental illness like it does physical injuries. Stop stigmatizing it so people will actually get help for it. This is the right choice.[/QUOTE] Brother I hear you on destigmatizing mental illness but the way to do that is through effective healthcare policies and not just letting people into this fucked up system.
[QUOTE=GlebGuy;52886444]Let's put people with mental health issues into situations where they can develop more mental health issues.[/QUOTE] Formerly had mental health issues. Only people who have recovered completely are being accepted. You are an example of the problem: People assume that it is impossible to recover from mental illness.
[QUOTE=Destroyox;52886404]Gee I didn't know the meme about the Army wanting anybody they could get was literally true.[/QUOTE] Nowadays that's really how it is. During the troop surge they lowered the standards and while for a time they raised them and focused on downsizing. Now the army is getting bigger again and needs bodies. But this war is drawn out and controversial, and millenials are often neither interested enough to join, physically fit, or free of mental issues like anxiety. They've also had to lower standards in order to get women to join and grow their new cyber initiative. The army struggles with retaining good leaders and people in general. As it stands, heritage foundation has rated army readiness at an all time low, and the lowest of all branches. It's also the fattest, and anecdotally literally everyone says discipline is nothing like it used to be.
Accepts recruits with possible mental illness. Bans gays and transsexuals from military. Bravo, US, you left your common sense somewhere.
[QUOTE=Mifil;52886490]Accepts recruits with possible mental illness. Bans gays and transsexuals from military. Bravo, US, you left your common sense somewhere.[/QUOTE] It really shouldn't be a surprise anymore. After all, we elected fucking Trump. Logic left the building when that happened
[QUOTE=GunFox;52886484]Formerly had mental health issues. Only people who have recovered completely are being accepted. You are an example of the problem: People assume that it is impossible to recover from mental illness.[/QUOTE] I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm saying that we shouldn't make the situation worse for those who still have them.
People with a history of mental health issues should be able to get waivers. This doesn't mean anyone with mental health issues can join. It just opens the door to allow certain people with certain medical histories join. If your mental health is deemed too severe they can still deny you entry. Just like physical waivers. Its time we stop treating people with mental illness like crazy freaks. Mental health isn't clear cut, just like physical health. If there are certain situations where someone with physical ailments can join I don't see why there shouldn't be situations where people with mental ailments shouldn't be allowed to join. Not all Jobs in the military are going to put you in the shit. It does no good to treat all mental health issues like the dude is a dangerous person. Just like having artificial hips doesn't make me a cripple. Every case is different and enlistment absolutely should look at it from a case by case basis. /Obligatory as someone with mental and physical health complications anecdote.
[QUOTE=jonu67;52886454]I don't even see why the US military even needs more recruits, it's not like they are at war.[/QUOTE] There's a lot more to the military than dudes with guns. A comparatively small portion of each branch is about directly fighting, there is A INSANE amount of manpower dedicated to maintaining equipment, logistics and administration. We are always in need of more people, a large part of this is due to the fact that retention in the military isn't very good which can be partially attributed to the fact that the military is a [URL="http://fortune.com/2016/04/13/worst-job-careercast/"]shitty job to begin[/URL] with.
[QUOTE=Ta16;52886525]There's a lot more to the military than dudes with guns. A comparatively small portion of each branch is about directly fighting, there is A INSANE amount of manpower dedicated to maintaining equipment, logistics and administration. We are always in need of more people, a large part of this is due to the fact that retention in the military isn't very good which can be partially attributed to the fact that the military is a [URL="http://fortune.com/2016/04/13/worst-job-careercast/"]shitty job to begin[/URL] with.[/QUOTE] Join the Air Force. The last time my brother touched a gun was in basic training and he spent the next 6 years waiting on the flight line to fix broken heavies. They told him if someone in his job had to pick up a gun, the war was already lost.
[QUOTE=OvB;52886541]Join the Air Force. The last time my brother touched a gun was in basic training and he spent the next 6 hears waiting on the flight line to fix broken heavies. They told him if someone in his job had to pick up a gun, the war was already lost.[/QUOTE] I second this, it's universally agreed on by just about everyone else in every other branch I've ever met that the Air Force has the best quality of life hands down. However advancement is the absolute worst of any branch of all. If you're looking earn free college and do 4 years and get out by all means I'd recommend the air force over the Navy any day. If you're looking to make a career out of the military? I'd consider different branch, I made E-1 to E-6 in 8 years and can now retire from the military woth retirement pay and benefits the rest of my life at the ripe old age of 38, so I feel like I got out good for being in the Navy.
[QUOTE=Mifil;52886490]Accepts recruits with possible mental illness. Bans gays and transsexuals from military. Bravo, US, you left your common sense somewhere.[/QUOTE] You can be openly gay in the military today. Transexual isn’t banned either as they’ve begun implementing the training and programs with which they are incorporating full medical support of the issue. Just because Trump wrote a retarded tweet doesn’t mean it holds any weight over what a judge and the military plans to do about it and they’ve made that clear. Shit, I’ve already had my transgender training/death-by-PowerPoint brief like two weeks after the military stopped the ban initially. Secondly, if you read the article, it merely opens the doors to a possible new recruit by dropping the immediate disqualification that used to go with any form of mental illness or past. Now, if the recruit could make it through the lengthy process of paper work to prove, with sufficient evidence, that they’re fit for this lifestyle, on top of the screening they’re supposed to be getting mentally, then they can get the waiver approved and they can continue the process again. It’s a fair idea because maybe some kid used to cut himself because of angst or a dark episode in his life and grew out of it and wanted to join. Now he won’t be immediately turned away so long as the burden of proof that lies with him is sufficient. Otherwise it’s business as usual and he gets turned away like before.
I always wondered if I'd rather suffer 5 years of a mental illness or 5 years of heavy service in the military, because either way you're going to feel like everything is a haze depending on what you get My aunt has Bi-polar disorder. Amazing woman, but shit like that isn't fun at all. I wouldn't consider her fit for military at all. She isn't like, dangerous, or anything, but it affects her a lot. [editline]13th November 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Mifil;52886490]Accepts recruits with possible mental illness. Bans gays and transsexuals from military. Bravo, US, you left your common sense somewhere.[/QUOTE] remember this [video]http://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890197095151546369[/video] huh what a funny thing to say
The shooter from the recent shooting in Texas that was discharging for assaulting his wife and kid, and it would not surprise me if he's suffering from a mental illness. This decision will only lead to more bloodshed.
[QUOTE=Mifil;52886490]Accepts recruits with possible mental illness. Bans gays and transsexuals from military. Bravo, US, you left your common sense somewhere.[/QUOTE] Pretty sure the lgbt ban was blocked?
[QUOTE=SpaceGhost;52886649]Pretty sure the lgbt ban was blocked?[/QUOTE] The fact that such possibility was discussed positively by the Trump administration and nearly went through is absurd.
You guys know that there are a lot of jobs that need to be done that aren't front line combat positions right?
[QUOTE=jonu67;52886454]I don't even see why the US military even needs more recruits, it's not like they are at war.[/QUOTE] Funny you should you mention that. My brother is in the army (helicopter mechanic), and he might have to miss christmas with us because of some mass training exercise they're scheduling for the very beginning of 2018. He says the general sentiment is that the whole army is gearing up for something big. He also said if he were to speculate, North Korea probably has something to do with it.
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