MILITARY PERFORMANCE OF A GROUP OF MARGINAL NEUROPSYCHIATRIC CASES
Abstract
EVANSTON, ILL.,GROUP OF CASES1CECIL L. WITTSON,ILL. EVANSTON,NEURO-PH.D.,2M. D.,OMAHA,NRE.,B. HUNT,This study of the medical and service records of a group of marginal neuropsychiatric cases, all of whom successfully completed 3 years of military service, has 2 objectives. In the first place we were interested in evaluating the criterion, âSuccessful Completion of Military Service.â In assessing the military serviceability of neuropsychiatric cases, it is commonly assumed that, if the individual completes his period of service and receives an honorable discharge at its conclusion, he has demonstrated his value to the military service. In one sense he has, but previous studies(2, 3, 5) have demonstrated that the quality of his service is not up to that of the nonneuropsychiatric or ânormalâ serviceman. By following the medical and service records of a group of known neuropsychiatric cases, we hoped to find further information confirming the quality of their military performance. If they constitute a greater medical and disciplinary responsibility to the services this fact should be taken account of in any actuarial study of the efficient use of manpower in a military emergency. The second question that we were interested in was the significance, in of the prediction of actual behavior, of