The acting secretary of the Army, Eric Fanning, promises to conduct a "thorough, multidisciplinary review" to determine whether thousands of combat soldiers with mental health problems or traumatic brain injuries have been unfairly kicked out of the Army for misconduct. His promise — in a letter to members of the U.S. Senate dated Nov. 30 but released Thursday — comes after NPR and Colorado Public Radio reported that commanders have dismissed more than 22,000 troubled combat troops since 2009 instead of helping them. The week after our story ran, a dozen U.S. senators wrote a letter to the Army demanding a full investigation. The written response from Fanning declares: "The decision to separate a Soldier from the Army for any reason is not an easy one. ... I appreciate the concerns you raised in your letter and take them very seriously." Fanning says the Army will assemble "a team of senior Army leaders," including its inspector general as the senators requested. "We will follow up
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