The sailor, who has not been identified, searched the name “Joseph Biden” in Military Health System Genesis, the armed service’s health record database, and a co-worker reported it as a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, otherwise known as HIPPA, according to a Navy official.

Presidential healthcare is provided by the military’s White House Medical Unit, and presidents receive treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service launched an investigation upon learning of the sailor’s action, and that probe concluded on April 24.

A Navy official told Military Times the sailor was administratively disciplined for the act and was assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, at the time.

The official declined to share the sailor’s rank or the nature of the discipline.

“At no time was the president’s personal information compromised,” Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday. “The record that the sailor inappropriately accessed was not the electronic health record of the President of the United States.”

Ryder added that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was notified of the attempted breach when the Navy became aware of the sailor’s actions.

Pentagon disclosure of the sailor’s effort to access Biden’s medical records come as questions circulate about the president’s mental acuity and fitness to run for re-election, particularly after the 81-year-old’s seemingly confused and muddled performance at a debate with Republican candidate Donald Trump last month.

Asked Tuesday if Austin ever questioned Biden’s decision-making abilities as commander-in-chief due to potential health conditions, Ryder answered with a quick “no.”

“We have had that discussion with the secretary in terms of monitoring all the coverage that’s out there these days,” Ryder said. “The secretary has full confidence in the president’s leadership as he has had from day one.”

The Russian state-sponsored hacker infiltrated a Microsoft platform called Microsoft Azure Government, which provides storage, databases and other services to the VA and other government agencies.

VA press secretary Terrence Hayes told Military Times in an email that the server was breached “for just one second, presumably to see if the credentials worked” by a group called Midnight Blizzard, or Nobelium, which has ties to the Russian government, according to Microsoft.

“After investigating the matter, we determined that no patient data was compromised,” Hayes told Military Times. “VA found that Midnight Blizzard used a single set of stolen credentials to access a Microsoft Cloud test environment around January. … We are continuing to look into this matter with Microsoft to ensure that all veteran patient data remains protected and that we are not compromised in the future.”

Stars and Stripes previously reported the hack.

Microsoft said the attack originally targeted corporate email accounts within the company, including the company’s senior leadership, in an effort to find information related to the group Midnight Blizzard itself. The hacker used a spray attack, which involves using a variety of predictable, simple passwords to try and gain access to an account, according to Microsoft.

“The attack was not the result of a vulnerability in Microsoft products or services,” Microsoft officials said in a January statement. “To date, there is no evidence that the threat actor had any access to customer environments, production systems, source code or AI systems.”

Hayes told Stars and Stripes that the attack was unrelated to a Feb. 21 hack, which involved a private vendor, Change Healthcare, responsible for processing health care payments.

That attack included an expansive breach of the U.S. health care system, possibly including the VA. Fifteen million veterans were notified that their private health care information could have been compromised, Veterans Affairs Sec. Denis McDonough said in April.

The cybersecurity attack also included the Peace Corps and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, an independent news group of the federal government that produces Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Free Asia, according to Stars and Stripes.

The pardon impacts veterans who were charged under a previous version of a law in the military’s Uniformed Code of Military Justice that criminalized sodomy, including between two consenting individuals.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court struck down anti-sodomy laws nationwide in a 2003 ruling, the 63-year-old regulation stayed on the books in the UCMJ until Congress amended the law in 2013 to remove consensual sexual acts.

“Some of these patriotic Americans were subject to court-martial, and have carried the burden of this great injustice for decades,” Biden said in a statement. “I am committed to maintaining the finest fighting force in the world. That means making sure that every member of our military is safe and respected — so they can focus on their mission.

“This is about dignity, decency, and ensuring the culture of our Armed Forces reflect the values that make us an exceptional nation.”

Veterans will be able to apply for the pardon if they fall under the eligibility criteria, a senior administration official said. If they are approved for the pardon, they can use the certificate of pardon provided to begin the process of fixing their discharge papers.

Another senior administration official said the Biden administration estimates that thousands of veterans were convicted of consensual conduct under military law, making them eligible for the pardon.

“We are going to take steps to try to make it as easy as possible for individuals to apply for [their paperwork to be correct],” the first senior administration official said. “When the Department of Justice sends the certificate of pardon to those who are eligible, they’ll be including material identifying specifically how they can apply for the change in their character discharge, along with the form for them to do so.”

Some veterans, however, have additional charges on their military record related to sexual identity — conduct unbecoming, for example — that fall outside the scope of the now-defunct portion of the anti-sodomy law. The second senior administration official said the proclamation from Biden does acknowledge that fact, but the pardon does not cover those with other charges tacked on due to their sexual orientation.

Those veterans with additional charges on their record would need to go through a separate process through the Justice Department, they added.

Biden’s pardon for LGBTQ+ veterans comes after the Pentagon in September 2023 announced a “proactive review” of LGBTQ+ veterans who received less-than-honorable discharges based on sexual orientation through the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

According to the Defense Department, more than 32,000 troops were separated from the military under its “homosexual conduct” policy between 1980 and 2011. Of those, roughly 14,000 LGBTQ+ troops were issued less-than-honorable discharges from the armed forces.

Despite the review, the Pentagon has faced its share of legal challenges from LGBTQ+ veterans.

Last Thursday, a district judge denied a motion by the Pentagon to dismiss a class action lawsuit from LGBTQ+ veterans over discharge papers unnecessarily identifying their sexual orientation as grounds for separation — and the responsibility for records’ correction being put on the veterans.

The judge in their decision noted LGBTQ+ veterans are “forced to bear the burden” to alter their discharge papers to protect their privacy and not immediately out their sexual orientation. The judge did not agree with the Pentagon’s argument that the review currently taking place within the Defense Department should be grounds to dismiss the case.

VA Under Secretary Shereef Elnahal’s comments were delivered to conference attendees during a conversation with Jason Pyle, executive director of Healing Breakthrough, an organization working to treat veteran PTSD through MDMA-assisted therapy.

Elnahal discussed how the VA will play a pivotal role in answering more specific questions surrounding psychedelic therapies, such as the extent of treatment necessary to have an impact on veterans.

Further researching just how intensive these therapies have to be will better prepare the VA to respond to the surge in demand they expect following potential approval by the FDA, Elnahal said.

“We can start to answer some of the questions that the broader clinical and scientific community has,” Elnahal said. “Do you actually need eight hours every three sessions for an MDMA therapy? Do you actually need two clinicians per patient for that duration?

“The moment the FDA approves MDMA … we’re going to see demand for this go through the roof, especially among the veteran population.”

Elnahal also noted the VA would like to study the possibility and effectiveness of group therapy sessions.

Preparations also include understanding what a treatment must entail to be the most medically — and economically — effective.

On the table, too, is expanding to other therapies, such as ibogaine and psilocybin, he added.

“This initial request for proposals is supposed to be the spark that fuels even more research,” Elnahal said. “Chances are that — because of the similar mechanisms of action, similar effect areas in the brain — we can see unique benefits of some of these other compounds. We’re proving the case that the federal government is no longer afraid to engage in this.”

A second phase III trial by Lykos Therapeutics, formerly the MAPS Public Benefit Corporation, found more than 86% of participants who received the MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD experienced “clinically meaningful” improvement 18 weeks after starting the trial.

More than 71% of participants who participated in MDMA-assisted therapy no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD at the end study, compared to just over 46% of participants who had the placebo plus therapy. The VA is currently conducting 13 multisite clinical trials, Elnahal told the audience.

In February 2024, MDMA received a fast-track review from the FDA, a designation given to the most promising treatment methods. The FDA in 2017 designated MDMA as a “breakthrough therapy” for treatment of PTSD. Psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, to treat anxiety and depression received that designation in 2019.

Elnahal noted that the risk potential for psychedelics is lower than existing treatments approved by the FDA to treat PTSD and other mental health issues veterans face.

The VA — with FDA approval — will push to have the treatment available to veterans across the country, regardless of background, Elnahal said. He told attendees he wanted to avoid disparities that traditionally arise with promising treatments.

“A dynamic that you often see with new and innovative therapies is that they asymmetrically go to populations that have more means, and you immediately start to see this dynamic of a disparity,” Elnahal said.

“We could prove the case that, for the first time, a new and innovative therapy does not have that disparity associated with it.”

The study, released on April 8 by the Veterans Law Practicum at UC-Berkeley, noted deficiencies in two pathways that allow deported veterans to access VA programs: humanitarian parole and the VA Foreign Medical Program.

“The law promises veterans access to the benefits and care many need to survive, no matter where they are in the world,” the report states. “To breathe life into this promise, we urgently need change. Otherwise, deported veterans will continue to suffer and die in exile.”

Humanitarian parole granted by the Department of Homeland Security allows deported veterans temporary reentry to the United States to access VA health care. However, applications for humanitarian parole are often denied and the cost of travel can be “prohibitive,” according to the report.

“There are a lot of deported veterans who are not able to subsist in the countries to which they’re deported,” Eric Provost, a Navy veteran and one of the authors of the report, told Military Times. “They don’t have access to things like VA health care, which they may be entitled to. A year just isn’t enough to ensure continuity of care and that they’re getting the treatment they need.”

The VA’s Foreign Medical Program, which provides health care from non-VA providers overseas, presents another opportunity for deported veterans to receive care. However, the report noted the program only covers treatment for “disabilities previously recognized as service-connected by the VA,” and many veterans are deported before they complete the disability compensation process.

There is also the question of the program’s reach in smaller countries, Provost added. While veterans have more options to apply for the program in larger countries, such as Mexico, other veterans, such as those residing in smaller nations — Honduras or El Salvador, for example — struggle to apply, Provost said.

“All veterans have access to [VA] benefits, regardless of their immigration status,” Provost told Military Times. “The fact that they’re deported has no bearing on whether they should be getting those benefits.”

The report recommended granting humanitarian parole more liberally, expanding the Foreign Medical program to include non-service-connected conditions and not requiring upfront payment for care, among other suggestions.

Mixed policies for non-citizen vets

The Immigration and Nationality Act allows for non-citizen service members to acquire citizenship if they are “lawful permanent residents” — also known as green card holders.

However, some veterans do not apply for citizenship — or satisfy the criteria for it, according to a 2019 Government Accountability Office report. “Bureaucratic and logistical obstacles” also hinder some veterans’ abilities to file for citizenship, the report stated.

Approximately 94,000 veterans do not have U.S. citizenship, leaving them vulnerable to deportation if they violate certain laws, regardless of their service record, according to the National Immigration Forum.

Historically, policies involving the deportation of veterans have not always been closely followed.

The 2019 GAO report found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not follow its own policies on tracking cases of non-citizen veterans who may be deported. Between fiscal year 2013 and 2018, 250 veterans were under threat of deportation, and another 92 had been deported.

The GAO recommended that ICE collect and maintain complete data on veterans currently under threat of deportation, or who have already been deported.

President Joe Biden in February 2021 signed an executive order mandating government agencies to review their immigration policies and propose new changes. In July 2021, the Department of Homeland Security and the VA announced the creation of the Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative.

As of December 2023, 93 deported veterans have returned to the U.S. through the program, according to the Veterans Law Practicum report.

There are legislative opportunities, too, to solve the gaps in accessing benefits for deported veterans, researchers noted. The report’s authors specifically call for the passage of the Veteran Service Recognition Act. Some provisions in the legislation include conducting a study on the number of veterans deported from the U.S. and better equipping military procedures to naturalize service members, according to the report.

So far, lawmakers have not voted on the legislation. The bill passed the House in 2022, but did not receive a vote in the Senate. It was reintroduced by a bipartisan group of House lawmakers in July 2023, although it has yet to receive a vote in the lower chamber.

The Army Corps of Engineers will lead the efforts to clear the federal channel as a part of federal, state and local response efforts, according to the Corps. Remotely operated vehicles and sonar will be used by the Corps, along with the debris removal vessel Reynolds, which patrols the waters of the Baltimore Harbor for drift and debris that could be hazardous to navigation.

Hydrographic and topographic surveying will also take place via the 61-foot survey vessel Catlett, the Corps said.

“Our thoughts are with those impacted by the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” said Col. Estee Pinchasin, the Baltimore District Commander, in a statement. “Our Emergency Managers are closely monitoring the incident and coordinating with partner agencies for any potential support requests.”

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, which spanned the harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed early Tuesday morning. The Baltimore City Fire Department said a container ship rammed into a support beam, which caused the bridge to collapse. Six construction workers who were on the bridge at the time of the incident are presumed dead, according to the Associated Press.

The Army Corps of Engineers are not the only military responses to the bridge collapse. As initial news of the collapse spread, Coast Guard stations Curtis Bay and Annapolis responded with search and rescue crews. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City also moved into the area.

The bill, which passed on March 8, encourages the VA to use $20 million to conduct nationwide trials of certain breakthrough psychedelic therapies, which include the use of MDMA-AT, also known as ecstasy or molly, and psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms. A “breakthrough therapy” is a designation the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives to drugs used to treat serious conditions, with initial studies showing “substantial improvement” over available medicines.

“We are truly grateful to our congressional champions, who’ve worked hand-in-hand with us to get federal skin in the game for MDMA-AT research,” Juliana Mercer, a Marine Corps veteran and veteran advocacy director for the group Healing Breakthrough, said in a statement. “We’re witnessing the federal government take unprecedented action to bring healing to our hurting veterans.”

Politico first reported on the psychedelic therapy provision, which was introduced by Psychedelic Advancing Therapies Caucus co-chairs Reps. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) and Lou Correa (D-Calif.).

There are currently eight psychedelic therapy trials taking place across the country through the VA, Mercer said, but all of those studies are philanthropically funded. Mercer previously told Military Times that a lack of federal funds hinders efforts to get such therapies in the hands of veterans who need them.

The passage of the amendment comes at a time when various agencies within the federal government are expanding research into the medicinal properties of psychedelics. Lawmakers in December passed the first-ever provision allowing the Defense Department to fund federal or state studies of the effects of psychedelic therapies. Select service members who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury may be eligible to receive a waiver from Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin to allow them to take part in the studies.

The FDA last month also announced that a joint approach of talk therapy and midomafetamine, or MDMA, would receive a fast-track review of six months, instead of the normal 10 months, given the potential of the therapy. The FDA provided a target date of Aug. 11 to conclude its evaluation and decision.

Results from studies on MDMA and other psychedelics have proven promising. The FDA designated MDMA as a “breakthrough therapy” for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in 2017. In 2019, psilocybin to treat anxiety and depression received that designation.

A second multi-site, phase III trial by the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies found that more than 86% of participants who received the MDMA-assisted therapy experienced “clinically meaningful” improvement in their symptoms 18 weeks after starting the trial.

Greater than 71% of participants who were administered MDMA-assisted therapy also no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD at the end of the study, compared to little more than 46% of participants given the placebo plus therapy.

Posting on Navy Reddit last month, one user — known simply as Senor_Rico — claiming to be a sailor reported that he had tamed the wild and unruly AI beast by using ChatGPT to generate his annual performance evaluation.

Completing such documents, also known as an enlisted evaluation report or “brag sheet,” can consume a sailor’s precious time while a swarm of daily tasks continue to mount.

But Senor_Rico claims the ChatGPT application will allow sailors to “feed it a brag sheet” and watch a fresh, automated eval roll off the cyber line, sparkling and ready to submit.

It took two weeks to train ChatGPT to write a brag sheet, Senior_Rico wrote, adding that the AI was first fed older evaluations in order to learn.

Once up to speed, the program, according to the purported sailor, “will turn your brag sheet into a full eval write-up.”

“This is great,” one Reddit user wrote in response. “I’ll be referring my homies to this.”

ChatGPT was developed by homies at the company OpenAI, an organization later acquired by homies at Microsoft.

The software allows users to feed questions or information to a chat bot and receive a polished report in return.

By February 2023, ChatGPT set the record for having the fastest growing user base, according to a study by UBS, a financial services group.

Some Navy Reddit commenters, meanwhile, expressed concern that using such a tool could threaten other sailors’ security clearances.

“Would not recommend for those that hold clearances or do cleared work,” thinklikeacriminal wrote. “You are gonna f— up and out the wrong s— in there.”

“Well yeah, don’t feed it a classified brag sheet,” Senor_Rico replied.

Another Redditor aired beef not with AI, but with evals altogether.

“Writing evals is stupid since it’s a popularity contest anyway,” Leading-Show8764 said.

The designation means the FDA will review the drug on a faster timeline — six months instead of 10 — and “direct overall attention and resources” to the study of drugs that, if approved, would allow for “improvements in the safety or effectiveness of the treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of serious conditions,” according to the FDA’s website.

The FDA has a target date of Aug. 11 to conclude its evaluation of MDMA-assisted therapy. Lykos Therapeutics filed for the review.

“We’re grateful to those in Washington, D.C., who are working overtime to pave the way for [MDMA]’s acceptance and approval,” Juliana Mercer, director of veteran advocacy for the group Healing Breakthrough, said in a statement. “The federal government is putting skin in the game after decades of philanthropically-funded private research.”

The FDA in 2017 designated MDMA as a “breakthrough therapy” for treatment of PTSD. Psilocybin to treat anxiety and depression received that designation in 2019.

The Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS, has researched the effects of MDMA for more than 30 years. It was tasked with conducting further studies on the treatment, the most recent of which was a multisite clinical trial and a second phase III trial.

In the second trial, more than 86% of participants who received the MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD experienced “clinically meaningful” improvement 18 weeks after starting the trial, according to MAPS.

More than 71% of participants who underwent MDMA-assisted therapy also no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD at the end study, compared to little more than 46% of participants who had the placebo plus therapy.

The first-ever provision for psychedelic studies was passed last year in the 2024 defense policy bill. Though yet to be passed, the Veterans Affairs appropriations bill would direct the department to set up pilot programs across the country for breakthrough therapies, including MDMA.

As part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2024, any member of the military diagnosed with either post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury can take part in a clinical study that uses authorized funds from the Pentagon.

Studies can be conducted regardless of a substance’s classification under the Controlled Substances Act or Uniformed Code of Military Justice, according to the bill. The bill passed through the Senate on Wednesday and the House on Thursday. President Joe Biden issued a statement on his intent to sign the bill into law following its passage in the House.

“The inclusion of provisions supporting studies on psychedelic therapy in the 2024 NDAA marks a historic moment for the veteran community,” said Amber Capone, CEO of Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, a group helping veterans access psychedelic therapies. “This legislative breakthrough reflects a bipartisan dedication to prioritizing the mental health of those who have served.”

The legislation comes as a mental health crisis continues to ravage veteran and military communities. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom suffer from near-epidemic levels of PTSD, with nearly 30% of those veterans reporting PTSD symptoms at some point in their lives.

The new provision directs Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin to establish a process for the Pentagon to fund studies by federal or state agencies that study the medicinal properties of psychedelics. Academic institutions are also eligible to receive Pentagon funding.

The legislation includes a range of psychedelic substances with potential medical properties:

• MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy or molly
• Psilocybin, more commonly known as magic mushrooms
• Ibogaine, extracted from the root of the Iboga plant in central Africa
• 5-MeO-DMT, commonly found in many plant species and secreted from the glands of the Colorado River Toad
• Other qualified “plant-based alternative therapies”

Researchers have already received promising initial results on a number of the substances included in the bill. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration designated MDMA as a “breakthrough therapy” for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Psilocybin to treat anxiety and depression received that designation in 2019.

Advocates are hopeful ibogaine will be the next to receive that status.

The Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS, has researched the effects of MDMA for more than 30 years. Its most recent study — a second phase III, multi-site clinical trial — confirmed the results of the first phase III trial.

In that study, more than 86% of participants who received the MDMA-assisted therapy experienced “clinically meaningful” improvement 18 weeks after starting the trial, according to MAPS. Additionally, more than 71% of participants who underwent MDMA-assisted therapy no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD at the end study, compared to little more than 46% of participants who had the placebo plus therapy.

For the next five years, Austin must submit a report to the House and Senate Armed Services committees about the institutions provided funding for the studies, the number of troops participating and results of the clinical trials, according to the bill.

But advocates for psychedelic therapies say there is more work to be done, and another bill making its way through Congress contains language to use such therapies to help veterans who have been diagnosed with PTSD or TBI.

Reps. Lou Correa, D-Calif., and Jack Bergman, R-Mich., recently submitted an amendment to the Veterans Affairs appropriations bill that would direct the department to set up pilot programs for breakthrough therapies, including MDMA, across the country. The pair co-chair the Psychedelics Advancing Therapies Caucus.

“[The provision] to the NDAA is an important and significant first step in DOD research into novel treatments for PTSD,” said Julianna Mercer, the veterans advocacy director for the group Healing Breakthrough. “There is significant momentum for new and innovative ways to treat PTSD, and Congress is already well into its next goal.”