Originally Posted by
George K Lee
It’s a mental health issue and should be treated as such.
Does that mean that depression should be grounds for immediate medical discharge?
No. A service member should be given the help they need till the point where they need to be medically discharged.
The key point with depression these days, and it’s taken a long time to get here, is that it’s starting to be understood that it can be managed. (I may have this wrong but I believe a member in here, Bob Viking?, has personally dealt with this and has a great insight. Forgive me if I have that wrong!) What is important here is that the depression is acknowledged as an illness and dealt with accordingly, just like a cancer or a broken leg. You go through the process, get the appropriate help, and in many cases you can carry on serving in a safe and productive manner.
The big difference with those with issues around their belief of their gender is that they won’t/can’t acknowledge that they have a mental illness. This as I understand it is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to them dealing with their issue. You can’t help or treat someone if they don’t believe they have a problem.
So, someone in the service, give them help till they have to be medically discharged. Someone trying to join however is quite different. If you have terrible eyesight, only one arm, depression, or are genetically a man but genuinely believe you are a woman then I’m sorry but you can’t join up. It must be hard when you want to serve your country, but realities need to be faced. The role of the Services is not to treat the illnesses of the public.