Lawmaker claims Pentagon using new diagnosis to drive out sex assault accusers
Fox News reports:
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., has accused the Pentagon of diagnosing troops who report that they were sexually assaulted with adjustment disorder and having them discharged. Speier told The Washington Times that the practice is a new tactic for the military, which previously diagnosed service members tied to sexual assault cases with personality disorder.
“It’s like a ‘Whac-A-Mole,'” Speier told the paper. “Every time we shut them down on something, they’ll find a way around it.”
The Times report cites a study from Yale University Law School that reports that the number of discharges due to personality disorder dropped from more than 1,200 in fiscal year 2007 to just over 100 in fiscal year 2009. Over the same period, the paper says, adjustment disorder discharges increased sevenfold.
