I also hope we get some answers on the extent to which Major Hasan's descent into madness (and I have no doubt that that's what it was) was accelerated, induced, or exacerbated by psychiatric drugs over time. This is all important stuff to know but the chances of really finding out, I fear, are not that great.

Whoohoo, a Democrat questioning biopsych and big pharma. I think this is a good sign.

When I was in high school, I got contacted by a number of military recruiters via the telephone. Upon hearing I was taking paxil, though, they told me I would be ineligible for service. Is that still the case today? I think if an SSRI prevented someone from joining the military, then wouldn't it be a good idea for any active duty soldiers taking them to at least be given a respite from combat so they could be monitored closely? IMO, guns and antidepressants don't mix too well, especially during the withdrawal phase.

When I joined the Navy (1979) I had to get 3 waivers. One for having attempted suicide, one for have done drugs and one for weight (I was 3 lbs over their limit). Their recruitment policies are different for each branch and they change about every 3-6 months. And my recruiter tried his best to get me to lie about the drugs and suicide attempt.

Scott- they push psych meds, esp. antidepressants, like crazy to active military in the gulf for starters, and if you come back stateside, they basically Rx as soon as you hit the ground here. I think it was Newsweek that ran a story, maybe a year ago, about the degree that the military rank and file were on meds. At the SAME TIME, MSM news outlets, I believe Newsweek included, were running stories about suicidality in gulf vets. No one is putting the two stories together. Yet. If I get time this evening or weekend, I will try to find a 'comment' I had on FS about this exact topic when it was emerging - where I noted the magazine(s). I have had the great fortune of being able to get some of my mental health training with VA, with vets, including PTSD - korean war, vietnam war, gulf wars. I salute these guys. I never served. Scott, you are a bigger man than me for discussing the possibility of signing up. I did complete my selective service form at my 18th birthday, just like President Obama did (allegedly), but never went farther than that. Anyway -- right now, all they can do is throw meds at the problems, and there is no med for PTSD. [I will repeat again: prazosin helps people with ptsd achieve decent sleep. ASK YOUR DOCTOR. Google the articles. Be wary of SSRIs - they will not cure PTSD.] So, nowadays, I don't believe an antidepressant Rx would make someone ineligible, and for active duty, psych meds, anti-anxiety meds, and sleep meds are being handed out like they passed out the smokes in WWII.

medsvstherapy, I'm not interested in joining the military (well, at least not right now); I just said that when I was in high school (almost 10 years ago), the fact that I was on paxil disqualified me from joining.