Posted on Oct 14, 2017
Is there a policy prohibiting soldiers from getting an Emotional Support Animal?
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If you need an emotional support animal, you don't need to be in the military.
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I have to disagree here. I think it highly depends on the situation and healthcare plan. There are situations, such as sexual assault, that create trauma causing a need for an emotional support animal. If the healthcare professional determines that with time and counseling, you can heal, then why kick the soldier out? For some it isn't a need 24/7, but having a dog helps to pull you out of the nightmares at night or when you're alone and thinking about the situation. If your trauma affects you at work or causes you to not be able to cope with the environment you are in everyday, then I could see how the determination could be made to Medboard. I think it really depends on the situation and how the mental health professional feels about your situation.
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Oh My Lord, what a can of worms! Lets look logically. 1. It is very hard for discharged veterans to be prescribed for and find service dogs, training can run as long as 2 years, and the veteran will spend months in training as well. 2. When I was in, regulations prohibited animals in the troop billets. Imagine the paperwork and discussion with your 1SG on this one. 3. Deployability?? I know the K9 units had to jump thru hoops to get their animals in country and you think you could get a non-military dog in? To get a family pet with all paperwork from OCONUS to CONUS use to take up to 6 months. So what good would this dog due during deployment? Can you imagine trying to care for the dog at a FOB or worse a OP? Bottom line, I imagine that if you were prescribed an "emotional support dog/animal" your time in the Army would be stagnant and short-lived.
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