Senator Tammy Baldwin's office issued this press release today:
For Immediate Release
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Contact:
press@baldwin.senate.gov
(202) 224 – 6225
Baldwin and Bipartisan Group of Senators Urge Secretary Carter to Update Discharge Policy Across All Military Services
Policy Would Ensure that All
Servicemembers - Including Sexual Assault Survivors and Those Suffering
from PTSD, TBI and Mental Health Conditions - Receive Fair Treatment
WASHINGTON, D.C. –
U.S.
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), joined a bipartisan group of eight Senate
colleagues today in sending a letter to Secretary of Defense Ashton
Carter urging the Department
of Defense (DOD) to issue a consistent policy across all military
services regarding the consideration of diagnosed mental health
conditions when administratively separating servicemembers.
The
policy would allow mental health conditions brought on by trauma
incurred during service to take precedence over misconduct when a
servicemember is being involuntarily
separated, and would allow for their referral for evaluation for a
medical discharge.
The letter was led by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and also signed by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Susan Collins
(R-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Al Franken (D-MN) and Gary Peters (D-MI).
In May 2015, the DOD Inspector General published a report that
found sexual assault
survivors who engage in trauma-related misconduct, such as taking
unauthorized leave to flee their perpetrator, are at higher risk of
being involuntarily discharged under less than honorable conditions.
"Servicemembers
who are involuntarily separated have a higher rate of suicide, are more
likely to become homeless, and can face employment discrimination for
their adverse discharge," the
Senators wrote in the letter.
Additionally,
combat veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic
Brain Injury (TBI) may exhibit irregular behavior, have difficulty
performing at work, or battle substance abuse. These disciplinary
infractions
can often be mischaracterized as misconduct rather than symptoms of a
mental health condition.
The current military discharge policy for
misconduct does not adequately weigh behavior that may have resulted
from a mental health condition.
The Navy updated its
administrative separation policy in June to require that precedence be
given to the medical conditions that may have contributed to the
misconduct when involuntarily separating servicemembers. This change
will ensure veterans are able to receive the benefits
they have earned. The letter asks Secretary Carter to extend this
policy to all of the military services.
"Clear
guidance will ensure that all servicemembers who are impacted by combat
or military sexual assault-related trauma receive fair consideration of
their medical conditions prior to their separation
from the military and will ensure that fair, consistent and transparent
standards are applied across the services," the Senators wrote.
Senator
Baldwin has long advocated for the Services to improve their handling
of trauma-related discharges and care for those servicemembers suffering
from trauma. For example, last year,
after pressure from Baldwin, the U.S. Army announced that they would conduct a thorough, multidisciplinary investigation
into allegations that the Army had wrongfully dismissed soldiers
for misconduct after they returned from deployment and were diagnosed
with mental health disorders.
An online version of this release is available
here.
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veterans
