PTSD Soldiers Misdiagnosed: Army Said They Had Personality Disorders

(CBS/AP) Did the U.S. Army unfairly get rid of soldiers who fought in the Iraq war after diagnosing them with a psychological condition they didn't actually have?

An April investigative feature in "The Nation" suggests that it did. It alleges that the US Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder, when they were more likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Unlike PTSD, which the Army regards as a treatable mental disability caused by the acute stresses of war, the military designation of a personality disorder can have devastating consequences for soldiers.

Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army eventually acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.

"We really have an obligation to go back and make sure troops weren't misdiagnosed," said Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist whose nonprofit "Give an Hour" connects troops with volunteer mental health professionals.

Defined as a "deeply ingrained maladaptive pattern of behavior," a personality disorder is considered a "pre-existing condition" that relieves the military of its duty to pay for the person's health care or combat-related disability pay.

According to figures provided by the Army, the service discharged about a 1,000 soldiers a year between 2005 and 2007 for having a personality disorder.

That number has since dropped significantly, but now the number of post-traumatic stress disorder cases has soared. By 2008, more than 14,000 soldiers had been diagnosed with PTSD -- twice as many as two years before.

Read more at The Nation.