Turns out politicizing the armed forces has consequences. The Biden Regime now faces a recruiting problem so severe they are pursuing people with mental health issues.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Defense Department will allow 700 individuals with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) to serve without a waiver. The paper also notes this might provide a pathway for those who have confronted “mental health or other developmental conditions.”
Here are how the new rules will work:
“Under the new rules, a potential recruit who has completed high school or college or successfully held a job without counseling or medication for three years for ADHD would be able to enlist. That symptom-free period “is reassuring that they would make it through their initial entry training and hopefully have a successful military career,” said Army Lt. Col. Kim Helgemoe, a member of Pentagon’s Accession Policy, an office that sets medical admissions standards across the force.”
“A potential recruit who has in the past been treated for depression or other mental-health ailments, or has taken any medication for such conditions, can join the military only with a waiver. Those waivers can be difficult to obtain as they factor in the recruit’s health, the potential job, and the requirements of the service. A recruit also may not be taking medication upon entering basic training, according to military guidelines.”
The last time the Pentagon relaxed regulations this significant, the results proved devastating. During the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, the military allowed drug offenders and high school dropouts to enlist with waivers. This experiment resulted in a rise in mental health problems and suicides among the armed forces.
The Regime, however, feels they have no choice. The military fell 15,000 short of its Fiscal Year 2022 goal and cut its goal in Fiscal Year 2023 by an additional 15,000.
Only 23% of young Americans currently meet the physical standards to join the military. More disturbingly, less than 10% of those Americans want to join.
Why would so many fit individuals be reluctant to serve? Blame the Regime’s woke policies and how they treat Americans in uniform.
The Defense Department has gone all-in with critical race theory and DEI garbage, particularly on the military campuses. On top of this, officials conducted a witch hunt for so-called right-wing extremists in the ranks, rightfully alarming ordinary conservative individuals because of the Regime’s tyrannical nature.
Never forget this infamous video of Mark “White Rage” Milley defending anti-white racism before a House panel:
Not satisfied with brainwashing servicemembers, the Regime kicked out members who refused to take the COVID vaccine and prevented others from joining if they refused the jab. Even the top general in the Marine Corps admitted this hurt recruiting though he still defended the Regime’s policy.
Thankfully, Congress finally forced the Biden Regime to reverse this horrific rule. But the damage has already been done.
Just like with the border, the economy, and everything else, Joe Biden has created an entirely preventable disaster with deleterious consequences. Military recruiting will not improve but these new policies will cause entirely preventable deaths.
We are a far weaker nation than we were just two years ago. The one person responsible for this is Biden.
The post BIDEN DID THIS: Undermanned US Military Now Accepting ADHD And Other Behaviorally Challenged Individuals appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.