Army Redefines "Borderline"

Just a little drinking problem, eh? Wait till these folks come home, trained and ready to fight any evil, real or, in a desperate state, imagined:
Ill GI says he was deployed from hospital
By Erin Emery, The Denver Post, 02/10/2008
A Fort Carson soldier who says he was in treatment at Cedar Springs Hospital for bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse was released early and ordered to deploy to the Middle East with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team.
The 28-year-old specialist spent 31 days in Kuwait and was returned to Fort Carson on Dec. 31 after health care professionals in Kuwait concurred that his symptoms met criteria for bipolar disorder and "some paranoia and possible homicidal tendencies," according to e-mails obtained by The Denver Post.
The soldier, who asked not to be identified because of the stigma surrounding mental illness and because he will seek employment when he leaves the Army, said he checked himself into Cedar Springs on Nov. 9 or Nov. 10 after he attempted suicide while under the influence of alcohol. He said his treatment was supposed to end Dec. 10 but his commanding officers showed up at the hospital Nov. 29 and ordered him to leave
[...] Late last year, Fort Carson said it sent 79 soldiers who were considered medical "no-gos" overseas. Officials said the soldiers were placed in light-duty jobs and are receiving treatment there. So far, at least six soldiers have been returned.
An e-mail sent Jan. 3 by Capt. Scot Tebo, the brigade surgeon, says the 3rd Brigade Combat Team had "been having issues reaching deployable strength" and that some "borderline" soldiers were sent overseas.
[...] Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, was outraged.
"If he's an inpatient in a hospital, they should have never taken him out. The chain of command needs to be held accountable for this. Washington needs to get involved at the Pentagon to make sure this doesn't happen again.
"First, we had the planeload of wounded, injured and ill being forced back to the war zone. And now we have soldiers forcibly removed from mental hospitals. The level of outrage is off the Richter scale."
[...] The Dec. 14 e-mail from the brigade surgeon says two health care professionals evaluated the soldier and arrived independently at a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
"The soldier stated . . . that he did not know what he might do if he had ammunition for his weapon. He was given a no weapon profile, but I have heard that it was not being followed," Tebo said in the e-mail.
The soldier said he was sent to the range twice to practice shooting with live rounds. At the end of the training, his weapon was taken from him.
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_8219520