A lot of times when we think of army soldiers we imagine heroic men and women who wear camouflage uniforms and help protect this country. What we probably don’t think about is their mental state and possible mental illnesses that arise because of the wars they’ve been in. Surprisingly, the Army doesn’t care much about the mental state of its soldiers like it should.

Misconduct Or Mistreatment?

Tens of thousands of men and women have been dismissed from the Army for ‘misconduct.' However, many of those soldiers were dismissed because of their mental health. The U.S. Army has been dismissing men and women who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder for misconduct. In one case, a man named Eric James, who served two tours in Iraq, was dismissed for misconduct in 2013, for a DUI he received in 2011. James had been going to see a therapist and psychiatrist and recorded his sessions. The Army psychiatrists and therapists were very rude and said he was in no danger to himself or anyone else even after he attempted suicide by swallowing the whole bottle of his antidepressants. The recordings soon lead to an investigation in which the therapists and psychiatrists were reprimanded. However, other cases like his were also uncovered.

Is It Against The Law?

Cases of men and women being dismissed because of their mental health issues started being reported in 2006. In 2009, a law was put into place that said a mental health examination had to be done before they are dismissed for misconduct to insure that the soldiers don’t have a mental disorder that would impair their judgement. Sadly, the Army usually winds up reporting that the mental disorders aren’t severe enough to impair the soldiers’ judgement, and, therefore, can be dismissed for misconduct. Lt. Col. Chris Ivany, one of the Army’s top mental health officials, said that their mental health might have been very severe when they were first examined, but their “condition subsequently improved” before they committed any act of misconduct.

Since 2009, the Army has dismissed 22,000 soldiers with mental illnesses for ‘misconduct.' When soldiers are dismissed in any way other than honorably, they lose access to important benefits that recover things like medical treatments and retirement. A question has been raised multiple times asking why commanders would kick soldiers out for misconduct instead of getting them the further help they need. The only answer people have come up with: it takes less time and money to dismiss them for misconduct than it does to help them. Eric James and multiple other people helped to shed more light on the issue by reporting their unfair treatment.

About 22 U.S veterans with combat-related PTSD commit suicide every day. You can help lower this number by signing this petition.