HARTFORD, Conn. – The US Army violates the rights of military veterans, its own standards and the Constitution by refusing to honorably discharge soldiers with alcohol and drug use disorders, thereby depriving them of federal benefits, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.
Army veteran Mark Stevenson, with the help of students from Yale Law School, filed a lawsuit in Connecticut federal court against Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth to compel the military branch to improve the discharge status of him and other veterans facing a less than honorable discharge alleging misconduct related to her substance use disorders.
The lawsuit is similar to one previously filed by Yale’s Veterans’ Legal Services Clinic on behalf of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions who were denied an honorable discharge for misconduct. These cases led to the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps agreeing to reconsider these firing decisions based on new criteria that recognize that mental health issues can affect behavior.
A military spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying the military branch does not publicly respond to pending litigation.
Stevenson, 63, of Stratford, Connecticut, enlisted in the Army in 1977. He said he developed drug and alcohol problems while serving as an auto mechanic in what was then West Germany. He said his substance abuse, including use of hashish, a concentrated form of marijuana and heroin, was a factor in him going AWOL three times and receiving a less than honorable discharge.