Posted on Nov 16, 2017
Army Brass: No Waivers for Recruits with History of Mental Disorders
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That headline makes sense to me LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq.. However the text of the article focuses on the fact that waiver authority has been lowered top 2-star generals. Previously this was a4-star general HQDA policy.
"U.S. Army senior leaders on Wednesday downplayed reports that the service had recently changed its policy in order to grant mental health waivers to recruits with a history of self-mutilation and mental disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder.
"The standards have not changed," Sgt. Major of the Army Daniel Dailey told a group of defense reporters.
Rather, the service lowered the authority at which recruiting waivers could be approved, Dailey explained. In the past, the waivers could only be approved by Department of Army Headquarters level; now, he said, they can be signed off by Army Recruiting Command, which is headed by a two-star general.
"The delegation of authority has [changed] -- which is appropriate; we trust commanders to make decisions, on the battlefield and at home," Dailey said.
Dailey, who appeared at the forum alongside Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, came in response a recent USA Today article that cited an Aug. 7 internal memo indicating that individuals with a history of self-mutilation, bipolar disorder, depression and drug and alcohol abuse could now seek waivers to join the service.
Dailey said the idea that "we want to get to an Army with no waivers would be incorrect."
"There are waivers. There always have been; there always will be. Your Sergeant Major of the United States Army is on a waiver when I came in the Army almost 30 years ago," he said. "It's a hearing waiver, one of the most common waivers we give."
Dailey and Milley maintain that the Army considers requests for waivers to Pentagon policy but follows strict guidelines before any waivers are granted.
The Army's recruiting goal for fiscal 2018 is 80,000 new soldiers, compared to fiscal 2017's goal of 69,000 new soldiers."
"U.S. Army senior leaders on Wednesday downplayed reports that the service had recently changed its policy in order to grant mental health waivers to recruits with a history of self-mutilation and mental disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder.
"The standards have not changed," Sgt. Major of the Army Daniel Dailey told a group of defense reporters.
Rather, the service lowered the authority at which recruiting waivers could be approved, Dailey explained. In the past, the waivers could only be approved by Department of Army Headquarters level; now, he said, they can be signed off by Army Recruiting Command, which is headed by a two-star general.
"The delegation of authority has [changed] -- which is appropriate; we trust commanders to make decisions, on the battlefield and at home," Dailey said.
Dailey, who appeared at the forum alongside Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, came in response a recent USA Today article that cited an Aug. 7 internal memo indicating that individuals with a history of self-mutilation, bipolar disorder, depression and drug and alcohol abuse could now seek waivers to join the service.
Dailey said the idea that "we want to get to an Army with no waivers would be incorrect."
"There are waivers. There always have been; there always will be. Your Sergeant Major of the United States Army is on a waiver when I came in the Army almost 30 years ago," he said. "It's a hearing waiver, one of the most common waivers we give."
Dailey and Milley maintain that the Army considers requests for waivers to Pentagon policy but follows strict guidelines before any waivers are granted.
The Army's recruiting goal for fiscal 2018 is 80,000 new soldiers, compared to fiscal 2017's goal of 69,000 new soldiers."
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