A Sailor With Diagnosed Mental Health Issues Says He's Being Targeted for Seeking Help
11 Apr 2022
Military.com | By Konstantin Toropin
Jatzael Alvarado Perez began struggling with life aboard the destroyer USS Farragut last year. The ship was in the process of getting ready to deploy, and a combination of the conditions aboard the Mayport, Florida-based ship and long stretches at sea were taking a toll on the 23-year-old sailor.
"It's just not a good environment at all, it's not a healthy one for sure," Perez told Military.com in a phone conversation.
After a couple of false starts, Perez would take the advice of a chaplain and seek help for the growing strains on his mental health, eventually receiving a diagnosis of a mood disorder. Instead of getting that help, though, he's faced repeated disciplinary actions, a positive drug test that suddenly wasn't, allegations of making it all up and, finally, confinement to the ship and a reduction in rank. Eventually, the situation drove his wife to spill everything in a post on Facebook.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/04/11/sailor-diagnosed-mental-health-issues-says-hes-being-targeted-seeking-help.html
