Troops Return Home with Scarlet Letters: PTSD"Psychologically Unsuitable for the Position of Police Officer

You served your country. After two tours of duty in Iraq, you are Honorably Discharged and begin transitioning back to civilian life.

A fellow Marine encourages you to visit the VA. He informs you that there is money available to compensate you for some of the stuff you’re going through—recollections of small arms firefights and roadside bombings, disturbing dreams, and jumpiness with loud noises. You figure, “What do I have to lose?”

At the VA, you undergo screenings for depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While your scores show no signs of depression, you endorsed statements indicating symptoms of PTSD. Ultimately, you’re awarded a 10% disability pension.  

Fast-forward one year. You’ve been working at a deli while applying for law enforcement jobs. You complete written examinations, physicals and meet with police department psychologists. Ultimately, you receive a letter from a department indicating that you have been found “Psychologically Unsuitable for the Position of Police Officer.” You’re informed that you have thirty days to file an appeal.

Your childhood dream of becoming a police officer is shattered. What went wrong?

After retaining an attorney to file your appeal, you to meet with a private psychologist. He will review your file from the police department and conduct an independent evaluation. Months go by as you wait for the police department to photocopy your file for the independent evaluator.

You ask yourself, “How do I explain to my family and friends that I’ve been psychologically disqualified from being a cop? With everything I went through in the Marines....”

Finally, you receive the phone call you’ve been waiting for. The private psychologist has received your file and wants to meet with you to discuss the documentation. He then informs you that you were psychologically disqualified due to “Poor stress tolerance— PTSD.” He further indicates that there was no evidence of an inability to manage stress at the time of your evaluation with the police department. Apparently, the 10% disability pension from the VA made you a “marked man.”

Unfortunately, this scenario is playing itself out over and over again across the country. Troops returning from the military, aspiring to work in law enforcement positions, are finding that instead of their military experience being viewed as a positive asset, they are deemed “psychologically broken.”

While there are certainly a number of troops who develop war-related PTSD, the vast majority of people do not. And although many troops return from war experiencing traumatic stress reactions, normal responses to abnormal events, not all of our troops will live their lives with significant distress and impairment of functioning with a traumatic stress disorder. 

When transitioning from the military to civilian life, normal men and women will no doubt grapple with symptoms of PTSD, particularly those who were exposed to the theater of war. However, we must recognize that these symptoms generally dissipate over time and should not prevent experienced troops from pursuing careers in law enforcement.