The U.S. Army has recalled soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder to Afghanistan and Iraq. A psychiatrist weighed in on the practice:
Dr. Judith Herman is a psychiatrist who specializes in PTSD. She said she does not think it is safe to send a mentally ill soldier back to war. "Personally I'm appalled by the practice," Herman said. "I don't think it's safe for the individual soldier. I don't think it's safe for his unit either to send someone who is so impaired back into a situation of danger."
Not only is it unsafe, it's against the Army's policies. The official policy of the Defense Department states "soldiers with serious psychiatric problems could only be sent back to the war zone if they were stable for at least three months."
I can just hear Donald Rumsfeld, "You go to war with the Army you've got..." Ours bears the mental scars as it lowers standards to expand in size. The impact of such actions is predictable and it won't appeal to the hearts and minds of the Muslim world.
Dr. Judith Herman is a psychiatrist who specializes in PTSD. She said she does not think it is safe to send a mentally ill soldier back to war. "Personally I'm appalled by the practice," Herman said. "I don't think it's safe for the individual soldier. I don't think it's safe for his unit either to send someone who is so impaired back into a situation of danger."
Not only is it unsafe, it's against the Army's policies. The official policy of the Defense Department states "soldiers with serious psychiatric problems could only be sent back to the war zone if they were stable for at least three months."
I can just hear Donald Rumsfeld, "You go to war with the Army you've got..." Ours bears the mental scars as it lowers standards to expand in size. The impact of such actions is predictable and it won't appeal to the hearts and minds of the Muslim world.
