One in nine medical discharges due to mental illness, according to Army

1 soldier in 9 exits Army for mental disorder

By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Thursday Jul 22, 2010 22:05:31 EDT

The number of soldiers forced to leave the Army solely because of a mental disorder has increased by 64 percent from 2005 to 2009 and accounts for one in nine medical discharges, according to Army statistics.

Last year, 1,224 soldiers with a mental illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, received a medical discharge. That was an increase from 745 soldiers in 2005 or about 7 percent of medical discharges that year, according to personnel statistics provided to USA Today.

The trend matches other recent indicators that show a growing emotional toll on a military that has been fighting for seven years in Iraq and nine years in Afghanistan, the Army and veterans advocates say.

“These numbers really just validate the mental health communities’ concern about multiple deployments,” says Adrian Atizado, who specializes in health issues as assistant national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans. “Mind and body are both taking a beating.”
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1 soldier in 9 exits Army for mental disorder