Veterans

CT Veteran Sues Army Over Dishonorable Discharges Related to Substance Use

Yale Law students are working on the case, which aims to force the military to treat addiction like other mental heath conditions.

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There are many dangers in deployment, and Army veteran Mark Stevenson says one of those is addiction.

“We have wars going on now, and believe me the relief for many of those soldiers is a drink or drug,” Stevenson, of Stratford, said.

His personal experience is at the center of a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Army with the help of Yale Law School students. It claims the Army is violating veterans’ rights by refusing to give soldiers with alcohol and drug problems honorable discharges.

The lawsuit states this violates Department of Defense requirements, and federal prohibitions against disability discrimination.

“It really is a stigmatizing black mark, if you will, on your record,” Dena Shata, Veterans Legal Services Clinic law student intern, said.

Shata says the fallout is that thousands of veterans are cut off from access to federal benefits. Stevenson says he’s felt those consequences.

“I was limited the type of jobs that I can get,” he said. “I couldn't get total benefits that a military personnel should be able to get when he does get discharged from the service. All that is off the table.”

Stevenson left his hometown of Bridgeport to join the Army in 1977, when he was 18.

“I was in a hotspot when I was in the military,” he said

He served as an auto mechanic, deployed in what was West Germany.

Stevenson recalls his time there as tense. He says he faced racism and frequent danger, with a German gang launching attacks against U.S. military members.

“So we're under Red Alert, you know, we're got all our weapons up, everything, just a lot of tension,” Stevenson said. “Every day we would go do our job, get off work, and we would drink.”

Stevenson believes the Army normalized substance use by giving each soldier a liquor ration.

“Three gallons of alcohol every month,” he said.

He became increasingly dependent before also turning to drugs like hashish.

“This is where my addiction started,” he said.

Stevenson says substance use later played a role in him going AWOL. He turned himself in, then was stripped of his rank and discharged in 1983.

“I was hurt. I was discouraged. I was empty, because I went into protect and serve,” Stevenson said. “I was just devastated.”

However after two more decades of battling addiction, his life now looks a lot different.

“I just came up on 20 years clean, July 4, 2022,” Stevenson told Shata.

Stevenson also works as a certified substance use counselor, mentoring other veterans struggling with addiction.

“So many people need to help, just as I did,” he said.

Last year, he made an appeal to upgrade his discharge. The Army Board of Correction for Military Records denied it.

“His invisible wound was ignored,” Shata said.

Shata argues the military should treat substance use like other mental health disorders.

“That is what the case is about, is recognizing that it is just as much of a mental health condition and deserving of the same consideration,” she said

Yale Law School has filed several similar lawsuits, brought on behalf of former military veterans with PTSD and other mental heath issues who were denied honorable discharges because of misconduct.

“The Department of Defense has recognized this,” Shata said. “They've issued binding guidance for its branches that recognize mental health conditions, and recognize the invisible wounds that service members might develop during their service.”

In a statement, Army spokesperson Heather J. Hagan told NBC Connecticut: “As a matter of policy, the Army does not comment on ongoing litigation.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, representing defendant Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, also had no comment.

Stevenson ultimately hopes to upgrade the discharge statuses of himself and others. He says getting his rank back, and a second chance, would mean so much.

“Everything,” Stevenson said. “Everything. That would put me in the best space ever. And I can go and try to achieve what I'm really trying to achieve, help the wounded warriors.”

The government has filed a motion to remand, arguing the case should be reconsidered for a number of reasons. Stevenson’s legal representatives at Yale Law School are now working on a response.

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