How the Military’s New Medical Screening Is Screwing over Army Recruiters

Kate Kuzminski, director of the Military, Veterans and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security, said the military is holding the new generation of soldiers to standards that today’s military leaders likely weren’t held to when they joined. Because of advancing technology and how medical screening has changed over the years, some leaders may not have even been cleared to join if they attempted to today, particularly when it comes to mental health.

“It’s not necessarily that the presence of ADHD or ADD is increasing,” Kuzminski said, “it’s that we actually collect that medical information on a generation of kids that we didn’t collect previously. … I think there’s probably a lot of people over the course of American history who, even with something like ADHD, do very well in a structured environment where they’re given clear expectations and they’re part of a group. It could have easily gone undiagnosed for generations, it’s just that we as a society and the medical community are paying more attention to that now than we did even 30 years ago.”

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