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  • CREW: Department of Defense: Department of The Army: Regarding PTSD Diagnosis: 6/30/2011 - Dept of Army Response

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    On April 17, 2009 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of the Army, seeking records related to guidance given to army staff and contractors regarding the diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). CREW seeks these records to raise public awareness about the process behind the diagnosis of PTSD and the pressure being placed on doctors to diagnose related anxiety disorders as a cost-cutting measure. The request was filed after Salon.com obtained a June 2008 taped conversation between an Army staff sergeant and an Army psychologist, in which the psychologist revealed he had been pressured not to diagnose PTSD. On July 31, 2009, CREW filed a lawsuit against the Army, CREW v. Dep't of the Army, challenging the Army's failure to produce records in response to CREW's FOIA request seeking documentation of Army guidance that discourages diagnoses of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Veterans Affairs has issued similar guidance that CREW also is seeking to document through a FOIA request that is also the subject of pending litigation.

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    CREW: Department of Defense: Department of the Army: Regarding PTSD Diagnosis: 6/30/2011 - Dept of Army Response

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    On April 17, 2009 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of the Army, seeking records related to guidance given to army staff and contractors regarding the diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). CREW seeks these records to raise public awareness about the process behind the diagnosis of PTSD and the pressure being placed on doctors to diagnose related anxiety disorders as a cost-cutting measure. The request was filed after Salon.com obtained a June 2008 taped conversation between an Army staff sergeant and an Army psychologist, in which the psychologist revealed he had been pressured not to diagnose PTSD. On July 31, 2009, CREW filed a lawsuit against the Army, CREW v. Dep't of the Army, challenging the Army's failure to produce records in response to CREW's FOIA request seeking documentation of Army guidance that discourages diagnoses of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Veterans Affairs has issued similar guidance that CREW also is seeking to document through a FOIA request that is also the subject of pending litigation.

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    30 views2 pages

    CREW: Department of Defense: Department of The Army: Regarding PTSD Diagnosis: 6/30/2011 - Dept of Army Response

    Uploaded by

    CREW
    On April 17, 2009 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of the Army, seeking records related to guidance given to army staff and contractors regarding the diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). CREW seeks these records to raise public awareness about the process behind the diagnosis of PTSD and the pressure being placed on doctors to diagnose related anxiety disorders as a cost-cutting measure. The request was filed after Salon.com obtained a June 2008 taped conversation between an Army staff sergeant and an Army psychologist, in which the psychologist revealed he had been pressured not to diagnose PTSD. On July 31, 2009, CREW filed a lawsuit against the Army, CREW v. Dep't of the Army, challenging the Army's failure to produce records in response to CREW's FOIA request seeking documentation of Army guidance that discourages diagnoses of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Veterans Affairs has issued similar guidance that CREW also is seeking to document through a FOIA request that is also the subject of pending litigation.

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    1

    U.S. Department of Justice


    RONALD C. MACHEN Jr. United States Attorney District of Columbia

    Kelly L. McGovern Special Assistant United States Attorney Washington. D.C. 20530

    Judiciary Center 555 Fourth St. N W

    (202) 353-9895 Votce: Facsimile: (202) 514-8780

    June 27, 2011

    Via FedEx
    DanielS. Alcorn 1335 Ballantrae Lane McLean, Virginia 221 01 (703) 442-0704 Re: Dear Mr. Alcorn: I have enclosed two discs and a hard copy of 333 pages of documents which are potentially responsive to your client's FOIA request concerning the diagnosis of PTSD. Pages 1-241 consist of the memornadum and other documents I previously provided to you on May 24, 2011. Pages 242-246 include the revised redactions to the 15-6 investigation. Pages 247-251 is the March 31,2011 Memorandum from ASA M&RA which we were previously waiting for permission to release to you. It is a memorandum which includes the Army Personality Disorder Separation Compliance Report for Fiscal Year 2010.

    CREWv US Department o[the Armv

    Case No. 09-CV-01432 (FJS)

    Pages 252 is a memo signed on October 27,2010 concerning the separation of soldiers with PTSD. Page 253-256 is an information paper dated October 25, 2010 regarding the screening of personality and adjustment disorder discharges. Pages 257-333 are the power point slides used by the instructor at a conference in April 2006 entitled "PTSD Disability Determination: Expectations and Reality."

    Many of these documents go beyond the specific FOIA request and the requirements of the FOIA statute. For instance, several of the documents are dated 2010 and 2011, which go beyond the dates of the request. In response to the lead you provided, MEDCOM performed an exhaustive search of the medical conferences held and obtained copies of the agendas for years 2004 through 2007. Further search revealed that the Army does not maintain a copy of the slides presented at the conferences. The FOIA officer took the initiative to contact the instructor of a class which dealt with the topic of PTSD. That officer provided a copy of the power point presentation which he still had on his personal computer. (See pages 257-333.) Additionally, the revisions of the redactions to the documents relating to the 15-6 were made in a good faith effort to ensure your client has the information needed to satisfY the public interest in this topic. (See pages 242-246.) The agency maintains a policy of redacting the legal review and investigating officer's recommendations as privileged materials, but in this case where those items were explicitly incorporated we believe release is helpful. We can develop a Vaughn index and provide additional declarations in the next two weeks to support this release and assure your client that the Army exhausted its search of the records pertaining to the FOIA request. However, I would like to agree to the redactions of the documents relating to the release of the 15-6 to ensure we do not have to create multiple declarations by our FOIA officer at MEDCOM. Please feel free to contact me by phone or email if you have any questions or concerns.

    Sincerely,

    Kelly L. McGovern Special Assistant United States Attorney

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