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Probe sought over alleged recruiting lies

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., has asked for a federal investigation into reports that Army recruiters encouraged applicants to lie so they could be accepted for military service.

Cooper, a member of the Armed Services Committee, wrote to Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., chairman of the Personnel Subcommittee of the committee, in response to investigative reports this week on WTVF-TV in Nashville.

The stories documented Army recruiters at three locations in Middle Tennessee urging applicants to lie about their mental health so they could meet official military recruiting standards.

“As you know, our military is currently stretched to the breaking point, but evading recruitment standards and weakening the integrity of our combat forces is no way to solve the myriad problems we face,” Cooper wrote.

One recruiter told an undercover reporter for the station not to disclose his Zoloft prescription.

“Me and you are the only ones who know it ... almost like ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ You don’t tell,” the recruiter advised the reporter.

Lt. Col. Patrick Brewington, who commands a local battalion, promised an investigation into recruiters who appeared in the reports.

“It appears here that I have a few recruiters whose actions let the whole organization down,” he told the station.

Cooper said similar activity could be under way in other parts of the country.

“Recruiting practices such as those uncovered in Tennessee should alarm us all, and if they are happening at three locations in Middle Tennessee, they are likely happening elsewhere,” he wrote.

He said the armed services already have been slow to diagnose and treat serious mental health issues stemming from combat.

“If prospective soldiers are being encouraged to lie about mental illness during intake, the problem is more widespread and fundamental than previously known,” Cooper wrote.