Assessment finds 67% of separating troops screen positive for mental health condition

Assessment finds 67% of separating troops screen positive for mental health condition

Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression were among the most common issues identified.

Michele Sandiford

June 9, 2025 1:19 pm

< a min read

• A separation health assessment administered to more than 50,000 service members found that about 67% of troops screened positive for at least one mental health condition. Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression were among the most common issues identified. A government watchdog found that over 50% of service members declined referrals to the Defense Department’s inTransition program that provides mental health resources during transition periods. DoD officials told the Government Accountability Office that many factors may contribute to the high rate of positive screenings among separating service members, including that many intend to file disability claims.
• Ahead of the Army’s 250th birthday celebration scheduled for Saturday in Washington D.C., the Office of Personnel Management is reminding agencies that they can approve unscheduled or situational telework for employees as preparations ramp up. OPM said starting Wednesday, streets will be blocked off and other safety precautions will get underway causing significant impacts to traffic and commute times. To help alleviate traffic congestion, prevent disruptions to preparation activities, and minimize any distractions to law enforcement and security officials, OPM reminded agencies that they can approve situational/unscheduled telework and other workforce flexibilities, including employee requests to use alternative work schedule day off, annual leave or other authorized time off.
• Two senators are teaming up on a bipartisan bill that would bring more transparency to the world of security clearances. Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) reintroduced the Integrity in Security Clearance Determinations Act on Thursday. The duo first introduced the bill in 2019. It would establish standards for security clearance decisions and prohibit the executive branch from revoking clearances based on the exercise of constitutional rights. The bill would also codify the rights of employees to appeal decisions to deny or revoke a security clearance.
• The Defense Department has promised to deliver its anti-fraud risk strategy by the end of July. The department said it would make data analytics an explicit requirement in that strategy. Seto Bagdoyan from the Government Accountability Office said the department has barely begun integrating data to detect fraud. “Being at the starting line would be a charitable way to describe it. They’re just not there. The data is massive. They are difficult to work with. We spent months cleaning up the data.” The Pentagon has delayed updating its anti-fraud strategy five times over seven months, from 2017 to 2024. The Defense Department reported that approximately $10.8 billion could be confirmed as fraud.
• The Supreme Court temporarily lifted a federal court injunction, once again giving the Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive records at the Social Security Administration. The Supreme Court wrote in an unsigned order that they concluded that, under the present circumstances, SSA give members of the DOGE team access to the agency records in order for those members to do their work. The district court issued the stay on April 17 citing concerns that DOGE’s access would likely violate the Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.
• The Federal CIO has put a moratorium on meeting with certain types of contractors. Greg Barbaccia, the federal CIO, said his office will no longer meet with research, advisory and strategy consulting firms. Instead, Barbaccia said in an email to the federal CIO community, which Federal News Network obtained, he will only meet with companies that build and deliver actual solutions. He said vendors must speak clearly and directly to how their product or service addresses known problems and what value the government will see in return. Barbaccia did not mandate this change, but shared his thinking with agency CIOs for their consideration.
• President Donald Trump is putting his own stamp on governmentwide cybersecurity policies. Trump on Friday signed a new cybersecurity executive order that keeps in place many Biden administration cyber policies, but with some key changes. Instead of mandating companies attest to meeting secure software development practices, Trump directed the Commerce Department to establish a secure software development consortium. The new order also eliminates language encouraging agencies to accept digital identity documents. And it waters down Biden administration efforts to bolster the security of artificial intelligence systems.
• The Supreme Court has sided with the Department of Government Efficiency in a case dealing with the secrecy of its own records. The court extended a pause on a lower court ruling that would have forced DOGE officials to disclose documents in a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act. A district court had ruled that DOGE is a federal agency subject to FOIA, but the government contends the organization is a White House advisory body, and immune from the public records statute.

Copyright
© 2025 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.