In Lithuania urges not to issue driver’s licenses to persons evading military service

Former commander of Lithuanian Armed Forces and current member of the Lithuanian Seimas Arvydas Pocius suggests not issuing driver’s licenses and weapons permits to people who evade military service by trying to fake certain diseases during medical examinations.

Delfi reported on this.

In particular, this applies to conscripts who fake mental illness.

“If a young man comes in whose medical record does not contain any records of having previously had mental disorders, and suddenly, as a candidate called up for compulsory initial military service, he starts to simulate, imitate, then the regulations of the military medical service commission should be revised for such cases,” Pocius said on television.

“If there are no records, (…) such a person may face restrictions when issuing a license to drive a car or purchase a weapon,” the Lithuanian Seimas member added.

He is also confused by the military medical service’s data on people unable to perform military service due to mental illness and psychological problems.

Therefore, Arvydas Pocius proposes to evaluate how the relevant psychiatrists perform their work.

“I really don’t believe that 44% of our society is mentally ill. I think that perhaps we should review the cases of simulation, evaluate the work of psychiatrists themselves, because to be on the safe side, they decide not to let them into the army,” the former army commander believes.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas assures that all possible cases of simulation are investigated during medical checks and most of them are not confirmed.

“We are checking these cases, it is only one percent. However, the vast majority of those who have already fallen ill have chronic diseases that have been going on for years,” Anušauskas said.

In January of this year, the State Defence Council of Lithuania approved the increase in the number of Armed Forces and the number of conscripts.

The draft amendments to the Law “On the Basic Structure of the Armed Forces and the Limit of the Armed Forces” stipulate that the total number of soldiers in Armed Forces will increase from 20,840 to 29,380. It is also reported that the maximum number of persons subject to conscription will increase from 4,240 to 7,040.