DoD tightens personality disorder finding
Under pressure from Congress and following the Army's lead, the Department of Defense has imposed a more rigorous screening process on the services for separating troubled members due to "personality disorder."
The intent is to ensure that, in the future, no members who suffer from wartime stress get tagged with having a pre-existing personality disorder, which would leave them ineligible for service disability compensation.
Since the 9/11 attacks, more than 22,600 service members have been discharged for personality disorder. Nearly 3,400 of them, or 15 percent, had served in combat or imminent danger zones.
Advocates for these veterans contend at least some of them were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury but it was easier and less costly to separate them for personality disorder. By definition, personality disorders existed before a member entered service so they do not merit a service-related disability rating. A disability rating of 30 percent or higher, which most PTSD sufferers receive, can mean lifelong access to military health care and on-base shopping.
Over the last 18 months lawmakers and advocates for veterans have criticized Defense and service officials for relying too often on personality disorder separations to release members who deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or other another areas of tension in the global war on terrorism.
A revised DoD instruction (No. 1332.14), which took effect without public announcement Aug. 28, responds to that criticism. It allows separation for personality disorder only for members currently or formerly deployed to an imminent danger areas if: (1) the diagnosis by a psychiatrist or a Ph.D.-level psychologist is corroborated by a peer or higher-level mental health professional, (2) the diagnosis is endorsed by the surgeon general of the service, and (3) the diagnosis took into account a possible tie or "co-morbidity" with symptoms of PTSD or war-related mental injury or illness.
Sam Retherford, director of officer and enlisted personnel management in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, said adding "rigor and discipline" to the process when separating deployed members for personality disorder is "very important," considering what is at stake for the member.
Last year several congressional hearings focused on overuse of personality disorder separation after The Nation magazine exposed apparent abuses in a March 2007 article. It described the experience of Army Spc. Jon Town. In October 2004, while Town stood in the doorway of his battalion's headquarters in Ramadi, Iraq, an enemy rocket exploded into the wall above his head, knocking him unconscious.
To comment, e-mail milupdate@aol.com, write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120-1111 or visit: militaryupdate.com
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Yes the PDO discharge can be applied appropriately while the service member is in training, basic or advanced, it would manifest itself under the strict supersvision of drill sergeants and other trainers. The failure to obey orders and the ability to conform to military standards would be visible early in the training process, and yes not everyone is geared to be in the military, if as a juvenile the military member had problems with parents, school authorities, or police officials, the same type problems would show themselves in the strict military environment.
However soldiers that have deployed and spent a year or more in a combat environment, to label them with a pre-existing mental condition is morally wrong, ethically wrong and the veterans deserve the help of the military and Veterans Administration. However if the veteran is discharged before they attain 24 months of service, then the VA can deny them medical care and or compensation if they are otherwise entitled to it.
Friday, November 21, 2008
DoD tightens personality disorder finding
