美国国家公共电台 NPR Senators, Military Specialists Say Army Report On Dismissed Soldiers Is Troubling

Senators, Military Specialists Say Army Report On Dismissed Soldiers Is Troubling

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0000:00repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: 

This next story raises a question. It's what we as a country owe to American veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and develop mental health issues. Last year, NPR and Colorado Public Radio revealed the Army was kicking out many such veterans. More than 22,000 soldiers were discharged for misconduct, even though they had mental health problems or brain injuries. A dozen U.S. senators protested. The Army then agreed to its own investigation². And now NPR News has obtained the Army's report. NPR's Daniel Zwerdling says instead of settling the controversy³, it's generating a new one.

DANIEL ZWERDLING, BYLINE⁴: The Army delivers its conclusion at the top of the report, quote, "the Army remains⁵ confident," unquote, in the way that commanders kick out soldiers for misconduct. But some of the senators who demanded that report say Army officials still don't get it, like Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

CHRIS MURPHY: I don't think the Army understands the scope of this problem. And I don't think they've conveyed the seriousness to get it right.

ZWERDLING: I should say before we go on that we asked the secretary of the Army for an interview - that's Eric Fanning - he declined. The Army wouldn't give us an interview with other top officials, either. The Army's conclusion - things are fine - is based on a narrow legal argument. Officials say when they kicked out those 22,000 wounded soldiers, they did not break a law that Congress passed in 2009.

And here's the background. Members of Congress had been upset that commanders were kicking out soldiers for misconduct instead of realizing that the soldiers had mental health injuries that helped trigger that misconduct, things like drunk driving or talking back to an officer.

So Congress passed the law. It said before commanders kick somebody out, they have to consider two things. First, has the soldier been diagnosed with brain injuries or PTSD? And second, has the soldier fought in the wars within the previous two years? Well, the Army says that only about 3,300 troops met that test out of more than 22,000 they kicked out. So the other 19,000 troops don't count.

JUDITH BRODER: I just don't believe it. It's not - it actually is - literally⁶ when I say I don't believe it, I mean it's unbelievable.

ZWERDLING: That's Judith Broder, founder⁷ of The Soldiers Project. It's a network of hundreds of psychotherapists and others who help troops and their families. President Obama gave her the Presidential Citizens Medal for this work. Broder says, the fine print on the law is one thing. But if the army genuinely wants to help wounded troops, then their report makes zero medical sense. For one thing, PTSD and brain injuries are just a small part of the problem.

BRODER: It's mind boggling to exclude people because they don't have one of those two diagnoses. Our experience at The Soldiers Project is that at least half, maybe more than that, of the people who call us with mental health problems following their service have anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol problems, all of which directly flow from their experiences in combat.

ZWERDLING: And, in fact, we got Army records under the Freedom of Information Act. They showed that, sure enough, most of the 22,000 troops they kicked out for misconduct had been diagnosed with illnesses like anxiety disorder⁸ or depression. And Senator Murphy says, how can the Army argue that mental health injuries don't matter just because the soldier fought in the wars more than two years before they got kicked out?

MURPHY: What we know is that PTSD and other disorders⁹ and conditions that arise from military service often don't rear their ugly head until two or three or four years later. And what a moral injustice¹⁰ it continues to be to have so many soldiers with mental illnesses and brain injuries connected to their service who are being discharged and made ineligible¹¹.

ZWERDLING: And that brings us to the next part of the Army's report. Our stories last year revealed that many, if not most, of the 22,000 soldiers lost some or all of their benefits as a result of getting kicked out. But the Army said just now that to the contrary, getting kicked out did not hurt most of those troops at all. The report states that 88 percent of the soldiers they examined actually got kicked out, quote, "under honorable conditions," unquote. So those soldiers were immediately eligible¹² for benefits.

COLBY VOKEY: I think that claim is completely misleading.

ZWERDLING: That's Colby Vokey. He used to be one of the top lawyers in the Marine¹³ Corps¹⁴. Now he's in private practice. And you practically need to be a lawyer to catch how the Army's claim is misleading. When the report states that most of those soldiers got kicked out under honorable conditions, it sounds like the soldiers got the best discharge you can get. It's called an honorable discharge. You get all the benefits the Army has to offer. But there's another kind of discharge called a general discharge under honorable conditions. It sounds pretty much the same.

VOKEY: It may sound that way on paper but it has a very negative effect.

ZWERDLING: If you get a general discharge under honorable conditions, you get access to medical care at the VA but you lose your education benefits under the GI Bill. So you can't get money to go to school. Plus, a lot of employers won't hire you.

VOKEY: I have a client right now who's a soldier. He wants to get into law enforcement or corrections. He's applied¹⁵ to a number of police departments. And because of the general discharge, they won't hire him.

ZWERDLING: So we asked the Army. How many of the soldiers who you say got separated under honorable conditions actually got the general discharge which carries a stigma¹⁶? The Army sent us the answer. Ninety-six percent got the negative discharge. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon says maybe Congress needs to pass a tougher law.

RON WYDEN: The bottom line for me is that the Congress still has work to do to ensure that our soldiers who are facing mental health challenges and have been kicked out of the Army get a fair shake.

ZWERDLING: Secretary Eric Fanning told the senators that as a result of this investigation, commanders will have to certify¹⁷ from now on that they've considered soldiers' mental health before they kick them out for misconduct. Fanning added that Army investigators¹⁸ did identify 73 soldiers who might have been kicked out unfairly. Officials will review those cases. I asked Senator Chris Murphy about that number - 73 soldiers.

MURPHY: Yeah. No, the number is clearly not 73. The problem is much bigger than that.

ZWERDLING: Daniel Zwerdling, NPR News.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

9 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

11 ineligible   

adj.无资格的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The new rules have made thousands more people ineligible for legal aid.新规定使另外数千人不符合接受法律援助的资格。
• The country had been declared ineligible for World Bank lending.这个国家已被宣布没有资格获得世界银行的贷款。

12 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

13 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

14 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

15 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

16 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

17 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

18 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》