Conscription will be conducted according to the new order of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
22.05.2000
On 12 July 1999 the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine issued Order No. 207, which introduces amendments to the Instruction . On military medical expertise and inspection in the armed forces. . The Instruction to be amended was approved by Order No. 2 in 1994. Let us analyze Articles 14 . 20 (mental and behavioral disorders). Like in the previous Instruction, mental disorders are classified by the aetiopathogenetic principle into 6 groups: organic lesions of the central neural system, endogenous psychoses, symptomatic psychoses, reactive disorders, personality disorders (psychopathy, alcoholism, drug addiction, mental retardedness). The degree of able-bodiness to military service is determined by the level of the relevant symptoms. Such approach must facilitate the assessment during the inspection.
In contrast to the previous Instruction a subsection 16-ã has been introduced. It describes disorders resulted from an acute somatic illness, which ended in convalescence. Recruits, who are covered by this subsection, are considered able-bodied for military service.
Article 19 (initial features of chronic alcoholism) is changed by describing the initial features of drug addiction and toxic substance abuse. The reason is the increase of recruits (compared to 1994) suffering from drug addiction and toxic substance abuse. In my opinion this additional description is quite justified, since at initial stages of drug addiction and toxic substance abuse behavioral disorders may be quite essential, and some of them must be regarded as disability to military service.
Commentaries are sometimes doubtful. For example, in the commentaries to Article 14 (disorders due to an organic lesion of the cerebral brain), epilepsy is included into the list of organic diseases. It is not clear if this statement can be related to cases when epilepsy is revealed as psychogenous equivalents without any features of an organic lesion of the cerebral brain.
The criterion for the ultimate decision both in Article 14 and in Article 16 is practically the same: absence or presence of organic lesions of the central neural system. The commentary to Article 18 is interesting: impudent behavior and disobedience cannot be assessed as unhealthy symptoms if they do not follow form the entire personality structure. Perhaps, the authors mean the Gannushkin triad (psychopathy criteria): totality of changes, their stability and frequent desadaptations. Using this criterion, it is difficult to find the difference between the compensation of psychopathy and undisciplined behavior.
The commentary to Article 19-B does not describe distinctly the initial stages of drug addiction and toxic substance abuse without personality disorder and changes of reactivity. So, what can be determined distinctly is the psychic dependence, which can happen also in the case of . episodic use of drugs and toxic substances. .
PL commentary.According to our experts, Order No. 207 as compared to Order No. 2, will substantially worsen the quality of recruits. Especially dangerous is the new form of Article 87, which actually abolishes the postponement due to hypotrophy. Due to the new Order, youths will be recruited whose weight exceeds 46 kg, independently of the height. It is not taken into consideration, in contrast to Order No. 2, that hypotrophy is frequently one of symptoms of some latent pathology: endocrinopathy, diseases of the digestion system, etc. The three-year postponement because of the steady hypotrophy enabled doctors to inspect the potential recruit and to find a somatic malady, if any. If to obey Article 87, in the form given in Order No. 207, it will result in recruiting a youth with dystrophy and somatically ill, since the article does not take account of the ratio of the weight and bone-muscular system, as well as the ability of the recruit to physical loads. The experts believe that all this may result in the increase of the latent ill in the army and to the growth of the number of invalids. Our experts appeal to the Union of soldiers. mothers to insist on improving this article.
Article 71 (spine diseases) is formulated in such a way that the degree of disorders of the spine functions is determined by the number of medical inspections of the spine. Article 90 (allergy) introduces this dependence too. Thus, the development of the disease, i.e. ability or disability to military service, is determined by the past inspections. The experts consider that in the modern economic situation, when the majority of potential recruits have no money to pay for inspections, the level of the above-mentioned diseases may be determined by giving a postponement during which the patient must be inspected gratis by the direction from the recruiting commission.
We have already received many complaints from the youths suffering from the above-mentioned diseases. The district recruiting commissions just change limitation grade 5 to limitation grade 4.
The previous Order reflected the position of the Ministry of Defense which was aimed at blocking the conscription of the ill. Now Order No. 207 opens the door for misuse and arbitrary interpretations. It is not difficult to foresee that this year recruits will be less healthy than of the previous one; more finances will be lost by the state for treatment of unhealthy servicemen; as always, tax payers will suffer. It is not difficult to predict that there will appear more deserters, and among them the proportion will increase of those, who cannot stand psychic and physical loads.
Kharkiv Union of soldiers. mothers insists on introducing amendments to Order No. 207, especially the text of the amended articles
In contrast to the previous Instruction a subsection 16-ã has been introduced. It describes disorders resulted from an acute somatic illness, which ended in convalescence. Recruits, who are covered by this subsection, are considered able-bodied for military service.
Article 19 (initial features of chronic alcoholism) is changed by describing the initial features of drug addiction and toxic substance abuse. The reason is the increase of recruits (compared to 1994) suffering from drug addiction and toxic substance abuse. In my opinion this additional description is quite justified, since at initial stages of drug addiction and toxic substance abuse behavioral disorders may be quite essential, and some of them must be regarded as disability to military service.
Commentaries are sometimes doubtful. For example, in the commentaries to Article 14 (disorders due to an organic lesion of the cerebral brain), epilepsy is included into the list of organic diseases. It is not clear if this statement can be related to cases when epilepsy is revealed as psychogenous equivalents without any features of an organic lesion of the cerebral brain.
The criterion for the ultimate decision both in Article 14 and in Article 16 is practically the same: absence or presence of organic lesions of the central neural system. The commentary to Article 18 is interesting: impudent behavior and disobedience cannot be assessed as unhealthy symptoms if they do not follow form the entire personality structure. Perhaps, the authors mean the Gannushkin triad (psychopathy criteria): totality of changes, their stability and frequent desadaptations. Using this criterion, it is difficult to find the difference between the compensation of psychopathy and undisciplined behavior.
The commentary to Article 19-B does not describe distinctly the initial stages of drug addiction and toxic substance abuse without personality disorder and changes of reactivity. So, what can be determined distinctly is the psychic dependence, which can happen also in the case of . episodic use of drugs and toxic substances. .
PL commentary.According to our experts, Order No. 207 as compared to Order No. 2, will substantially worsen the quality of recruits. Especially dangerous is the new form of Article 87, which actually abolishes the postponement due to hypotrophy. Due to the new Order, youths will be recruited whose weight exceeds 46 kg, independently of the height. It is not taken into consideration, in contrast to Order No. 2, that hypotrophy is frequently one of symptoms of some latent pathology: endocrinopathy, diseases of the digestion system, etc. The three-year postponement because of the steady hypotrophy enabled doctors to inspect the potential recruit and to find a somatic malady, if any. If to obey Article 87, in the form given in Order No. 207, it will result in recruiting a youth with dystrophy and somatically ill, since the article does not take account of the ratio of the weight and bone-muscular system, as well as the ability of the recruit to physical loads. The experts believe that all this may result in the increase of the latent ill in the army and to the growth of the number of invalids. Our experts appeal to the Union of soldiers. mothers to insist on improving this article.
Article 71 (spine diseases) is formulated in such a way that the degree of disorders of the spine functions is determined by the number of medical inspections of the spine. Article 90 (allergy) introduces this dependence too. Thus, the development of the disease, i.e. ability or disability to military service, is determined by the past inspections. The experts consider that in the modern economic situation, when the majority of potential recruits have no money to pay for inspections, the level of the above-mentioned diseases may be determined by giving a postponement during which the patient must be inspected gratis by the direction from the recruiting commission.
We have already received many complaints from the youths suffering from the above-mentioned diseases. The district recruiting commissions just change limitation grade 5 to limitation grade 4.
The previous Order reflected the position of the Ministry of Defense which was aimed at blocking the conscription of the ill. Now Order No. 207 opens the door for misuse and arbitrary interpretations. It is not difficult to foresee that this year recruits will be less healthy than of the previous one; more finances will be lost by the state for treatment of unhealthy servicemen; as always, tax payers will suffer. It is not difficult to predict that there will appear more deserters, and among them the proportion will increase of those, who cannot stand psychic and physical loads.
Kharkiv Union of soldiers. mothers insists on introducing amendments to Order No. 207, especially the text of the amended articles