Transgender is not qualified to be in the military, but, bipolar has no problem becoming a soldier.
The USA military can create mental health issues, ie: PTSD, but maintaining them in a ready force is questionably advisable.
Simple "odds" guarantee there will be soldiers with mental health issues. The USA military tries to sort them out when enlisting, but, there are some that make it through to training and combat. Eventually, these folks will provide obvious mental health symptom and it is the holy men that bring them to the attention of the leadership. Normally, when verified as a mental health issue, they are provided a discharge from a VA hospital.
Believe me, if one meets a 300 pound marine with schizophrenia at a VA mental health facility there is a certain gratitude for the physicians and nurses that work with these folks. There is a clear understanding the soldiers need to take their medication and demonstrate a willingness to do so before they are discharged.
That said, allowing recruits waivers to their mental health diagnosis is worrisome. The people mentioned as finding themselves on a battlefield that manifests their mental health problems are not diagnosed. The US military is providing a place in the ranks for those with known mental health diagnosis. Unless these folks are maintained in offices or other benign positions with the military there is no place for them in combat.
I want to also state, the Transgender soldiers in the USA military do not have mental health diagnosis. The discrimination of the Transgender under Trump is thick as pea soup and needs to be contended with.
April 26, 2018
By Tom Vanden Brooks
Washington — The Army issued waivers (click here) over 13 months to more than 1,000 recruits who had been diagnosed and treated for mood disorders and 95 more for self-mutilation, according to data obtained by USA TODAY.
The acceptance of new soldiers with a history of serious behavioral health issues, some of which can be lifelong challenges, came as the Army struggled to meet its recruiting goals. The time period ran from Oct. 1, 2016, through Oct. 31, 2017....
...Mood disorders include conditions such as bipolar disorder and severe depression. Self-mutilation can indicate deep psychological problems.
“Bipolar in most cases is a lifelong challenge,” said Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, a psychiatrist who retired from the Army as a colonel in 2010 and is an expert on waivers for military service. “It is more of a challenge when you’re younger and is not something you can simply be clear of. You’re often on medication for life.
A history of severe depression raises the risk of suicide, a problem the military sought to minimize in part by eliminating waivers for many behavioral health issues in 2009, Ritchie said.
Last fall, USA TODAY reported on Army documents that showed the service tried to ease the waiver process for recruits with a history of self-mutilation, bipolar disorder and depression. The Army encountered challenging recruiting goals, including adding more than 76,000 soldiers this year. In 2017, it accepted more recruits who had fared poorly on aptitude tests, and it increased the number of waivers for marijuana use.
Sen. John McCain criticized the service for accepting recruits who mutilated themselves....
