Army lifts ban on cutters, mentally ill and drug abusers to meet recruiting goals

Well sadly when you have a volunteer society and also a media-centric society like America, then you have to understand what you're getting. If you can't throw a child into therapy for cutting, then it stands to reason that the child when it graduates, may decide (as is its right) to join the military. At this point in time you must let it.

This can't be real...

It is not free for all, and the story is not being accurately depicted. The only thing the Army has done is allow individuals to be considered for a waiver. IE a kids parents take him to the doctor when he was 5 because they thought he seemed depressed or 12 year old kid went to a counselor and was misdiagnosed as depressed after the loss of a parent. Cutting, kid has cuts on his arm from a fence as a kid and has docs to prove it, but was dq on the floor because it LOOKED like self mutilation. All it does is give these individuals the opportunity to express what the issue was and if it was actually a good diagnosis. Before these individuals were AUTOMATICALLY no waiver considered. Doctors still had to review every case and still has the authority to say no.