Suicide Highlights Military Mental Care Woes

In this Nov. 12, 2007 file photo, Chris Scheuerman comforts his former wife, Anne, while the couple...

In this Nov. 12, 2007 file photo, Chris Scheuerman comforts his former wife, Anne, while the couple reminisce about their son Jason, in photo, in Sanford, N.C. Three weeks after an unlicensed Army psychologist concluded Pfc. Jason Scheuerman was capable of faking mental illness to get out of combat duty, he killed himself. Scheuerman's death, the subject of an internal Army investigation exposed to The Associated Press by his family, casts light on the use by the Armed Forces of unlicensed mental health professionals to help soldiers cope with the extreme stress of combat.

(Jonathan Fredin/AP Photo)

In 2005, an Army captain in Iraq asked for a mental health evaluation for one of his soldiers, a private first class from North Carolina who was known to put the muzzle of his weapon in his mouth.

The case was assigned to a psychologist who was unlicensed — a common practice in the early years of the war, when the Army rushed mental health counselors to the combat zone even if some weren't certified or fully qualified.

The psychologist reported that a screening indicated the 20-year-old private, Jason Scheuerman, was "capable of claiming mental illness" to manipulate his superiors and did not have a mental disorder. Three weeks later, Scheuerman stepped into a barracks closet and shot himself to death. He had nailed a note to the closet that said, "Maybe finaly I can get some peace."

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His death, the subject of an internal Army investigation exposed to The Associated Press by his family, casts light on the armed forces' reliance on unlicensed counselors before the Army policy was changed to exclude them in 2006.

At the time of Scheuerman's suicide, unlicensed psychologists and other counselors were allowed to examine soldiers provided they were supervised by licensed professionals. The same rules are common in civilian evaluations.

It is not clear whether the psychologist in Scheuerman's case, Army Capt. Chris Hansen, was supervised according to those rules before he sent the soldier back to duty.

Hansen, whose report also said Scheuerman should be taken seriously if he acted depressed again, received his doctoral degree in 2007 and his license in 2008, in Alabama. He is currently stationed at Fort Benning, Ga.

Defense Department rules require a "doctoral level" health care provider to evaluate a soldier who is believed to be at risk for suicide.

At least 200 soldiers have taken their lives while serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2007 alone, the Army reported 115 suicides everywhere in the service, the highest yearly figure since it started keeping track in 1980.