the reason i'm asking is cos of recent trials taking place where the u.s soldeirs have been charged or in the process of being charged for war crimes commited on iraqi civillians.some of the crimes seem only capable of being commited by mentaly unstable people. does the u.s army take safeguards to check if mentaly ill people are recruited in the army?
2006-11-10 00:59:26 · 13 answers · asked by W.M.D 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
they are mental from the commander in cheif down to the infantry, killing or rapeing isn't a war crime to them but an act of pleasure.
2006-11-10 01:28:21 · answer #1 · answered by the _reporter 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
I was in the Army for 5 years and my brother is schizophrenic. The Army and the medical community at large have very few tests they can conduct that will definitely tell them a recruit has a mental illness. Most tests are lengthy and very costly and cannot be performed on the 70,000+ recruits needed every year.
The Army does take safeguards such as asking you flat out if you have ever been diagnosed with a mental illness by a mental health professional or sought treatment. Naturally you can lie but you are looking at jail time if you do. Lastly, every recruit goes through a background investigation where they contact people from your past. If they dig up criminal convictions and a laundry list of old teachers who said you used to toture squirrels at recess you are going to have some problems. My brother never exhibited any signs or symptoms of mental disease until well into his 20's.
If a mental illness is suspected once a soldier is in the Army he is normally sent to treatment or discharged. The system isn't foolproof but it does exist to weed these people out. One of the guys that was convicted of commiting astrocities in Iraq had already been discharged for mental problems prior to his crime coming to light. The Uniformed Code of Military Justice also has a specific discharge for mental illness, I think it is a section 8.
If a soldier has the propensity for mental illness or is already having problems then war is just going to push them to the forefront.
2006-11-10 05:07:00 · answer #2 · answered by SL 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are criminals in every walk of life, honey - soldiers, politicians, doctors, teachers, nurses, preachers, policemen, firemen, etc.
When you're talking about a population of several hundred thousand troops that have been rotated through service in Iraq, the odds are that there will be a percentage of these that will engage in criminal actions, even actions that seem criminally insane.
But, when you're talking about the military during conflict, they have additional stresses on them that are not present in ANY peacetime activity. This can cause severe psychological reactions and subsequent actions. There's no escaping the fact. And no screening for it, either.
2006-11-10 01:21:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are safeguards - but nothing is perfect and some people do slip through.
The fact of the matter is that you should be proud of how rare these cases are. Think about it - over a million US troops have served in Iraq and less than 50 have disgraced themselves.
2006-11-10 01:10:37 · answer #4 · answered by MikeGolf 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes a person can not stand to take orders, and be obedient to the cause, and will crack out of the mold to do the unthinkable. This happens to the enemy forces as well. If Islam named the same pursuit, and goal as the terrorists, we would know who to declare war on, and not a war on an ideas.
2006-11-10 01:14:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think they allow unstable people to join the military but think about it, if someone is sent to one of those war ridden countries and are there for any amount of time it's bound to do something to you. Our military are hunted down like animals and they're dealing with animals so the instinct is to become one of them. I know I'd go postal if I were there.
2006-11-10 01:03:28 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, they have to take psychiatric/mental tests.
I think that the problem is that war can really do damage on your mental thinking. They see things and go through things no one can understand that hasn't been there. Also alot of these men are young and impressionable. It is sad and a shame and in no way am I condeming their actions but I think that has part to do with it
2006-11-10 01:10:19 · answer #7 · answered by Willow 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, the Army has a very strict method of finding a mental disorder in their possible recruits. They ask them if they have ever had a mental problem.
2006-11-10 01:06:41 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
War puts alot of stress on those guys... The ones that are sane which all of them are can have a mental break down and do something that they wouldnt normally do.
2006-11-10 01:42:12 · answer #9 · answered by armywifes3lb 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God i think i am mentally retarded ( for real) and im an army pilot. I fly the AH-6J little bird attck helicopter. 7.62mm machine guns, 6000rpm miniguns, and 2.75in FFAR rockets. I love my job. My commanding officer called me a retared during boot camp and i did not like that. So when time came for me to go to helicopter flight school, i had that same guy. I inverted my helicopter ( turned it upsidedown really quick) and he almost fell out.. I just laughed my ''retarded'' (he said i laughed like a retard) laugh and showed him i wasn't that dumb. So i would say they will take smart retards.... :)
2006-11-10 01:38:05 · answer #10 · answered by bb 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I once spoke to an Army Reserve recruiter who said they do try to watch for that, though they don't test for it, so some can slip through.
2006-11-10 01:07:01 · answer #11 · answered by Kacky 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋