Remember the book and film that coined the phrase, Catch-22? That phrase revolved around if you stated flying too many missions had made you crazy and you should be grounded, that meant you knew what you were doing, weren’t crazy and had to fly more missions.
Do these new tests have a built-in Catch-22 that if you prove you’re a killing machine that means you can’t join and become a killing machine?
The Army is set to introduce a new mental-health test of unprecedented size and scope as part of its increasing efforts to improve soldiers’ mental wellness amid the strain of repeated deployments.
Come October, the service will require all its active duty, National Guard, and reserve soldiers to take a test that will help identify potential problem areas for soldiers. The 170-question test will look at physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and family issues and then recommend follow-on training as needed.
The program comes as the Army is tackling rising suicide rates, divorce, and depression among thousands of soldiers returning from war. But unlike other programs, which seek to intervene when a soldier’s issues have already been flagged by other screening methods, this program aims to be more proactive.
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For an institution that molds warriors, the program will test the ability of the rank and file to move beyond the natural stigma of talking about feelings. James Quick, a fellow at the American Psychological Association and a retired Air Force colonel, says such a program aims for more thorough wellness.
An “ok” movie is Steve McQueen in “War Lover” about how well the best soldier in the unit who is a psychopath who goes out at night to slit enemy soldiers throats gets along with everyone else.
Just another version of would you want a gay person in that fox hole with you because of unit morale??
The better example of this Catch-22 ((the best book ever written and a movie that is a poor reflection of it)) is: “Should you vote for a politician who wants the office?”
Real paradoxes are quite sublime.
My thought is that asking a mate to be mateless through three or more one year long deployments is bleeping stupid.
The bottom line is we have way to many people in support/high ranking officers and not enough combat people keep the tours down and Obama doesn’t want to send enough forces into Afghanistan to get the job done. He’s sort of stuck here because he doesn’t have the guts to pull them out either.
The third option which we used in Iraq under Shrub was to hire a lot of locals.
Mercs as noted in _The Prince_ have problems. The are either no good in which case they waste your money or they are good in which case you run the risk they may turn against you.
The bottom line based on my best current local information is we either need to start hiring to pack up and go home and declare the Taliban victorious.
Since most Americans would vote to impeach the bleeps that did the last I’d say we need to start hiring if we haven’t already.
That should have been “…we need to start hiring or pack up and go home…”
When are they going to introduce mental health tests for politicians?
Makes sense. A soldier can’t become a Loose Cannon.
Anyway, quit whining, you can always join Blackwater…
“Come October, the service will require all its active duty, National Guard, and reserve soldiers to take a test that will help identify potential problem areas for soldiers.”
The potential problem areas for troops are either the likelihood of coming home with PTSD (I’m sure the testing is supposed to detect this) or with coming home in a coffin.
They need all the help they can get to deal with the horrors they’ve gone through. Before, during and for a long while after.