Discussion with Major General Gregg Martin, USA (Ret.)

Maj. Gen. Martin will discuss his new book BIPOLAR GENERAL: My Forever War with Mental Illness.

Maj. Gen. Gregg F. Martin, PhD, USA (Ret.), served on active duty for thirty-six years and commanded an engineer company, battalion, and the 130th Engineer Brigade in combat during the first year of the Iraq War. General Martin served multiple overseas tours, commanded the Corps of Engineers Northwest Division, was Commandant of the Army Engineer School, commanded Fort Leonard Wood, was Deputy Commanding General of Third U.S. Army/Army Central in the Middle East, Commandant of the Army War College, President of the National Defense University, and Special Assistant to the Chief of Engineers. Martin holds a PhD and two master’s degrees from MIT, master’s degrees in national security strategy from both the Army and Naval war colleges, and a bachelor’s degree from West Point (class of 1979).

In Bipolar General, we learn that since adolescence Martin had what psychiatrists call a “hyperthymic personality,” or an exceptionally positive, energetic, and can-do disposition. The Iraq War triggered what military and Veterans Administration psychiatrists diagnosed as lateonset bipolar disorder, a chemical imbalance that sends sufferers whipsawing between grandiose imaginings and suicidal depressions.

Even after resignation, Martin’s initial psychiatric evaluation cleared him for duty, which again illustrates how difficult it is to diagnose mental illness in high-performing individuals. He discusses why his condition went undiagnosed for so long and explores what can be done both within and outside the armed forces to diagnose and treat mental illness. Bipolar General should be of value to those with mental illness and to the communities of family, friends, and caregivers surrounding them.