View Full Version : If you're crazy,, Uncle Sam wants you...
1st Almost green berets
Now, Almost sane..
:mad:
Army lifts ban on waivers for recruits with history of some mental health issues
Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY Published 12:00 p.m. ET Nov. 12, 2017 | Updated 8:24 a.m. ET Nov. 13, 2017
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.
The decision to open Army recruiting to those with mental health conditions comes as the service faces the challenging goal of recruiting 80,000 new soldiers through September 2018. To meet last year's goal of 69,000, the Army accepted more recruits who fared poorly on aptitude tests, increased the number of waivers granted for marijuana use and offered hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses.
Expanding the waivers for mental health is possible in part because the Army now has access to more medical information about each potential recruit, Lt. Col. Randy Taylor, an Army spokesman, said in a statement. The Army issued the ban on waivers in 2009 amid an epidemic of suicides among troops.
“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.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/12/army-lifts-ban-recruits-history-self-mutilation-other-mental-health-issues/853131001/
Great, now I could possibly have some clown that identifies as a grapefruit fighting next to me!
We are hitting the bottom of the barrel now. I like the fact that America's fighting forces are now going to accept their "failed" candidates.
Team Sergeant
11-13-2017, 10:41
can't have trannies without mental issues...... so........
Don't we have enough snowflakes with support chickens already ????
Someone is going too get killed...again!
Can someone say, Berdahl.....
Milley's just doing a bang-up job......
1st Almost green berets
Now, Almost sane..
:mad:
I met with an army recruiter last week and we spoke about the 18x enlistment option. I am an honest individual and was up front with him about my marijuana usage. I didn't go into much much detail but I did admit to using the previous night. I know that I am mentally stable and my record is free of anything drug related, but I am afraid that admitting my use of not only marijuana but other drugs will deter my chances of being selected during SFAS. I brought this to my recruiters attention and of course he tells me what I want to hear "Nobody in the military is 100% clean." Things of that nature, I want to trust him but I'd like to hear back from someone who has been in my shoes. I am a 22 year old college student. I graduate this May, and I have always had this urge to serve. I just hope that my previous actions from 5 years of college do not come back to haunt me if I decide to sign the 18x contract. All feedback is appreciated. Thank you.
-hjs
I met with an army recruiter last week and we spoke about the 18x enlistment option.....
Follow the rules and post an introduction in the intro thread or your time here will be short.
The Reaper
11-13-2017, 12:09
I met with an army recruiter last week and we spoke about the 18x enlistment option. I am an honest individual and was up front with him about my marijuana usage. I didn't go into much much detail but I did admit to using the previous night. I know that I am mentally stable and my record is free of anything drug related, but I am afraid that admitting my use of not only marijuana but other drugs will deter my chances of being selected during SFAS. I brought this to my recruiters attention and of course he tells me what I want to hear "Nobody in the military is 100% clean." Things of that nature, I want to trust him but I'd like to hear back from someone who has been in my shoes. I am a 22 year old college student. I graduate this May, and I have always had this urge to serve. I just hope that my previous actions from 5 years of college do not come back to haunt me if I decide to sign the 18x contract. All feedback is appreciated. Thank you.
-hjs
If using the night before you went to see your recruiter seemed like a good idea to you, frankly, I don't think you exhibit the good judgement and discipline to be an SF soldier.
Believe it or not, there are quite a few in SF who never used.
I guess it is possible that you do not understand that your unit will regularly conduct random drug tests in which you will be required to participate, and failure will be punishable, eventually resulting in separation.
Your recruiter's job is to make quotas, and he will tend to overlook many issues with long term consequences.
Do yourself a favor and don't join. You are not cut out for a military life.
Best of luck.
TR
Sooooo....
You want to join the Army - and the DAY prior to talking with the recruiter you decided to smoke a fatty? Then you follow that gem by offering the fact that you are "afraid that admitting my use of not only marijuana but other drugs will deter my chances of being selected"
...which is just another way of letting us know that you are a security risk for a few different reasons:
a) suggesting that you are willing to with hold information if it is in your best benefit
b) have something negative in your past that could be held against you by foreign intelligence services
c) you don't mind asking around for help circumventing the system
"not only... / ...but other"
That could be anything from doing 'whippets' in the dairy isle to helping Walter White brew up a batch of 'Blue Sky' but only you know how far down the rabbit hole your history goes
So, here is my advice:
a) Stop talking to that recruiter - The fact that he sounds willing to help you circumvent the system means he is a shit bag. A few years down the road when you are facing bad paperwork because a background investigation for your security clearance uncovers that you used drugs and lied about it to get in the service, your recruiter is NOT going to come to your aid to testify that he told you it was ok to NOT report it.
b) Stop getting high - You say you have an "urge" to serve? Your first step in the long road ahead is to stop doing drugs. We already have enough of societies hand-fed miscreants serving in the armed forces. If you want to get high and still peruse an elite career that will ensure a solid list of followers on social media, perhaps you should become an Olympic swimmer.
c) Find some new friends- College buddies that enable and encourage your drug use are not worth having as friends on an easy day. They are particularly bad for you if you want to turn your life around and become an honorable and productive member of the military. The physical demands of the military will always trump recreational drug use and hanging out with the 'choom gang' is going to interfere with your military duties.
d) Use this opportunity to ponder your "previous actions from 5 years of college" - You have been wise enough to recognize the very real possibility that your actions may come back to haunt you. Now, be smarter than the Harvey Weinstein's, Kevin Spaceys, and Louis C.K.'s of the world. Shit WILL come back to haunt you, and using "hope" as a Course Of Action shows very poor planning skills.
ddoering
11-13-2017, 16:30
1st Almost green berets
Now, Almost sane..
:mad:
No problem, send them to the SFAB. All is well.
Badger52
11-13-2017, 21:38
They are in a hole.
Because of the actions of those entrusted with the care of the Army over the last 8-10 years, thousands of fathers, grand-fathers, aunts, uncles - veterans, who would dearly like to have done otherwise - have told their normally motivated kids & grandkids that the military is not a place they would wish for them to be.
They are in a hole and refuse to put down the shovel.
When the predators start eating "the sensitive ones" it will be spectator sport & they won't have to pay SecArmy what Goodell is asking for from the National Felons League.
:munchin
Milley needs to retire..
Creating "almost green berets" and "almost sane"??
Two major fails..
Army says USA TODAY story forced it to drop plans for waivers for high-risk recruits, Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY 15 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Wednesday the Army has rescinded a September memo stating that people with certain mental health issues, including self-mutilation, would be eligible for waivers to join the service.
Milley, appearing before reporters, said the Army rescinded the memo because of an article published Sunday by USA TODAY. He maintained that the policy on considering such waivers had not changed but had been delegated to a lower level for approval.
Milley said the Army had done a “terrible” job explaining the policy. (Someone else is taking the fall..)
He credited USA TODAY for bringing the issue to his attention.
https://amp.usatoday.com/story/866626001/
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...................
If a leader is responsible for everything the troops do or fail to do, and "the Army had done a “terrible” job explaining the policy" then who should the CSA hold accountable ????
Or will we hear that hollow phrase that so often comes from within the DC beltway, "I take full responsibility"
...which is another way of saying, I screwed the pooch but - whatareyougonnadoaboutit
The USA has become a poorly produced reality TV show but at least the ratings are great !!
ddoering
11-16-2017, 15:01
"He credited USA TODAY for bringing the issue to his attention. "
He learned this from Obama.
"He credited USA TODAY for bringing the issue to his attention. "
He learned this from Obama.
I double-dog-danger-death-do-or-die-dare anyone on active duty below the rank of CSA to claim that you had no situational awareness of your charge save what you learn from USA-Today...
...and then follow it with "I take full responsibility" for the event
I dare you
I double dare you
I double-dog-danger-death-do-or-die-dare you
...but to win you have to do it and NOT get fired
The Reaper
11-16-2017, 21:05
He sure is creating a legacy, isn't he?
I wonder if the SecDef ever calls a Service Chief in for a little counseling?
TR
I double-dog-danger-death-do-or-die-dare anyone on active duty below the rank of CSA to claim that you had no situational awareness of your charge save what you learn from USA-Today...
...and then follow it with "I take full responsibility" for the event...and NOT get fired...
<West Point Superintendent> "Hold my beer..."