Does the army give mental health waivers?

1LT John Mills — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 13:23:04 -0400

Does the army give mental health waivers? I was a psych nurse 1LT. I have been stable on my meds for 8 years.

Response by SFC Michael D. made Jun 14 at 2019 2:36 PM

SFC Michael D. — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 14:36:02 -0400

If they don't, I need Psych Nurses at the San Antonio State Hospital. The pay ain't great but the benifits are. Not trying to be greedy, psych Nurses are needed all over. Just saying, I could use yoor experience.

Response by SSG Dale London made Jun 14 at 2019 9:05 PM

SSG Dale London — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 21:05:12 -0400

A word of caution - I went back into uniform as a chaplain after serving 16 years as a soldier and a break in service of 13 years (I was too old for the US Army so I joined the Brits). I thought my PTSD was a thing of the past and that I could handle it all. Imagine my surprise when I found myself right back in the stink of it while training for an Afghan deployment. Fits of rage, sleeplessness, the nightmares, all of it -- and I was the PADRE, for crying out loud. I was self-aware enough to realize that if I deployed with my unit in the state that I was in, I was going to be a liability instead of the support and force multiplier a chaplain is supposed to be. I resigned my commission and went into a parish. It was quite possibly the most humiliating and soul-crushing event in my entire military career. But it taught me a valuable lesson: I am not, nor have I ever been bullet proof. I am not the exception to the rule.
I have a great deal of sympathy for the vets in my parish (and there are quite a few) because I understand the hell that many of them live in every day. I am lucky because God heals me. Jesus keeps me grounded and focusses my efforts where they really need to be.
It may be that you are stable now and will remain so if you go back in. But take a tip from me: be on your guard and if you find yourself going down that old path, run -- do not walk -- run to the doctor and lay it ALL on the table.
The last thing you want to be is a liability or -- worse -- a statistic.