Army Rescinds Waiver Program for Self-Mutilating Recruits
By Jonah Bennett Published on November 16, 2017
https://stream.org/army-rescinds-wai...ting-recruits/
The Army has decided to abandon plans to issue waivers to recruits with a history of self-mutilation or other mental health problems.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Wednesday to reporters that a September waiver memo, first reported on by USA Today, had been dropped after "terrible" messaging of the policy. However, Milley maintained the memo did not constitute a real change in policy, but rather delegated the ability to issue waivers to a lower authority — from Army headquarters to Army Recruiting Command.
"There wasn't a change in policy," Milley said, according to USA Today. "There cannot be a change in policy by someone who doesn't have the authority to change policy. I know it sounds circular."
However, Army officials previously told USA Today that the ban on issuing waivers, which was first imposed in 2009 after a spate of troop suicides, had been lifted....