The United States Army has decided to lift the ban on accepting recruits with a history of self-mutilation. Excuse me, but I thought we got rid of stupid ideas like this when the Barack Obama Administration left the building.
I am a military veteran of eight years, so please know that my emotions and my opinion are strongly against this. There’s no need for it, and whoever thought this up should be relieved of duty.
This is a dangerous idea, in my opinion, Look for more violence, theft, and suicide in the Army. This is nothing but short-sighted thinking, for sure.
So let me get this straight: The Army is letting go of trained, experienced folks and they are bringing in the mental illness brigade? Seriously? So if they make it through training, and then wig out, it will be a huge waste of money. Did we not learn from Bradly Manning and Bowe Bergdahl?
Perhaps low recruitment issues stem from the policy of endless deployments, reduction in benefits, and deplorable treatment of veterans. I’m a veteran but I would never enlist under today’s conditions.
From WUSA9: “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.”
More from the report: “’The decision was primarily due to the increased availability of medical records and other data which is now more readily available,’ Taylor’s statement to USA TODAY said. ‘These records allow Army officials to better document applicant medical histories.’”
I don’t understand what the reasoning behind needing to constantly recruit new soldiers is. And I’m not so sure giving someone with a history of mental illness a gun is such a good idea.
They’ve lost their freaking minds with this move. It’s not even funny. So on the outside, you can’t have a gun if you have some of these illnesses on your record, but, hey, you can go in the service and that’s acceptable? I’m not even believing this. Hell, we had suicides in basic training with supposedly normal folks.
We have enough vets with mental health issues after their service and a high suicide rate. Come up with something else to increase enlistment. That’s my opinion.
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