123STA T . 22 8 1 PUBLIC LA W 111 – 8 4—O CT. 28 , 2 0 0 9sucha c ondit ion ,re cei v esa m edica l e x amination to evaluate a dia g nosis o fp ost - traumatic stress disorder or traumatic b rain in j ur y.‘ ‘ (2)A member covered by paragraph ( 1 ) shall not be administra- tively separated under conditions other than honorable until the results of the medical examination have been revie w ed by appro- priate authorities responsible for evaluating, reviewing, and approving the separation case, as determined by the S ecretary concerned. ‘‘( 3 ) I n a case involving post-traumatic stress disorder, the medical examination shall be performed by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist. In cases involving traumatic brain injury, the med- ical examination may be performed by a physician, clinical psycholo- gist, psychiatrist, or other health care professional, as appropriate. ‘‘(b) PURPOSE O FM E DICALEX A M I N A T ION. —T he medical exam- ination re q uired by subsection (a) shall assess whether the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury con- stitute matters in extenuation that relate to the basis for adminis- trative separation under conditions other than honorable or the overall characteri z ation of service of the member as other than honorable. ‘‘(c) INAPPLICA B ILIT Y TO PROCEEDIN G S U NDER UNIFORM C ODE OF MILITARY J USTICE.—The medical examination and procedures required by this section do not apply to courts-martial or other proceedings conducted pursuant to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. ’ ’. (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 11 76 the following new item
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‘ 1 1 7 7 .Memb e rsdiagno sed w i th or reasonab ly asserting p ost - tra u mati c stress dis- order or traumatic brain in j ury
medical e x amination re q uired be f ore administrati v e separation. ’ ’. (b) R E V IE W OF PREVIOUS D ISC H ARGES AND DISMISSALS.—Section 1 5 53 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ‘‘(d)(1) In the case of a former member of the armed forces who, while serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces, was deployed in support of a contingency operation and who, at any time after such deployment, was diagnosed by a physi- cian, clinical psychologist, or psychiatrist as experiencing post-trau- matic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury as a consequence of that deployment, a board established under this section to review the former member’s discharge or dismissal shall include a member who is a physician, clinical psychologist, or psychiatrist. ‘‘(2) In the case of a former member described in paragraph (1) or a former member whose application for relief is based in whole or in part on matters relating to post-traumatic stress dis- order or traumatic brain injury as supporting rationale or as jus- tification for priority consideration, the Secretary concerned shall expedite a final decision and shall accord such cases sufficient priority to achieve an expedited resolution. In determining the priority of cases, the Secretary concerned shall weigh the medical and humanitarian circumstances of all cases and accord higher priority to cases not involving post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury only when the individual cases are consid- ered more compelling.’’.
