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Asperger's and Millitary

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MDD123
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01 Feb 2013, 7:44 pm

I never told the army about my aspergers in 2003, probably one of my better life decisions. The army helped me realize how much misery I could put up with.

In my experience, a lot of NCOs (middle management) spend less time working with the people under them and more time gunning for the next rank. A lot of soldiers don't like exercise or eating healthy (unless they're part of that crowd), complain about the new softer army that integrates females because their favorite NCO complains about it, and loves to dish it out to the new guy.

I worked trainee sick call at ft Leonard wood for over a year and saw all kinds of crazy behavior, generally they'll let you stay in if you meet their physical requirements and show up every day, they might not promote you a lot, but as long as you don't do anything drastic you're good. There is no good reason to mention aspergers, the military is a bueracracy and even though they have plenty of people with as symptoms, officially having it might put them in a position to bar you. Not to mention that nobody will care what kind of excuse you come up with when you get called out, it's just better to take the ass chewing until they get tired of it.


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auntblabby
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01 Feb 2013, 11:28 pm

they must've gotten a lot more chill since the 80s when i was in, back then they weeded LOTS of people out with official bullying tactics at the micro level [bullying NCOs] and at the macro level [QMP].



WolfieBoi
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02 Feb 2013, 2:30 am

MDD123 wrote:
I never told the army about my aspergers in 2003, probably one of my better life decisions. The army helped me realize how much misery I could put up with.

In my experience, a lot of NCOs (middle management) spend less time working with the people under them and more time gunning for the next rank. A lot of soldiers don't like exercise or eating healthy (unless they're part of that crowd), complain about the new softer army that integrates females because their favorite NCO complains about it, and loves to dish it out to the new guy.

I worked trainee sick call at ft Leonard wood for over a year and saw all kinds of crazy behavior, generally they'll let you stay in if you meet their physical requirements and show up every day, they might not promote you a lot, but as long as you don't do anything drastic you're good. There is no good reason to mention aspergers, the military is a bueracracy and even though they have plenty of people with as symptoms, officially having it might put them in a position to bar you. Not to mention that nobody will care what kind of excuse you come up with when you get called out, it's just better to take the ass chewing until they get tired of it.


This sounds like sound advice for anyone with Asperger's trying to get into any sort of job, really, if you switch NCO with boss.


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MDD123
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02 Feb 2013, 6:19 pm

I keep hearing about the 80's military and all the stuff they did, I'm so glad they toned it down. To tell the truth, most NCOs are decent nowdays, the system itself is bloated, inefficient, and mind numbing, but most people mean well. There's still this witch-hunting phenomenon where they single out one person and let them have it, I think it just feels good to have a bad guy to go after. They actually drove a guy to suicide once and started complaining about how they would have to pick up his slack. Let me add that some NCOs are vile scum.


I don't plan on mentioning aspergers to any future employer, or veteran / military status if I can help it. I don't want people thinking I'm damaged goods.


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WolfieBoi
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02 Feb 2013, 9:16 pm

MDD123 wrote:
I keep hearing about the 80's military and all the stuff they did, I'm so glad they toned it down. To tell the truth, most NCOs are decent nowdays, the system itself is bloated, inefficient, and mind numbing, but most people mean well. There's still this witch-hunting phenomenon where they single out one person and let them have it, I think it just feels good to have a bad guy to go after. They actually drove a guy to suicide once and started complaining about how they would have to pick up his slack. Let me add that some NCOs are vile scum.


I don't plan on mentioning aspergers to any future employer, or veteran / military status if I can help it. I don't want people thinking I'm damaged goods.


I wouldn't join the military for that exact reason.


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CrazyRatLady
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20 Mar 2013, 11:14 am

JRC wrote:
I broke a growth plate in my foot and had to wear a cast just as a precaution when I was about 12. I told my recruiter about this, and he told me not to mention it to anyone else. He said it wasn't a big deal and would be a lot of paperwork to do over such a silly thing. There are many recruiters like this, that are more concerned with hitting their numbers than doing things correctly. I have met plenty of people who were actually weeded out for medical reasons, and many people who lied or were told to cover up a condition. There are recruiters on both sides.

When I went to MEPS and then boot camp, I was repeatedly asked if I lied on any of my paperwork. My recruiter had prepared me in advance to deny everything. That was pretty common in that recruiting office.

From what I experienced, Marine Corps recruiters were always more willing to meet their recruiting goals in any way possible. The Army recruiters seemed more ethical, but willing to budge if need be. The Navy recruiters were probably the most honest and straightforward. And finally, Air Force recruiters didn't seem to do much. They always had a huge backlog of people trying to get in, so they didn't really have to worry about recruiting as much.

Sorry for getting sidetracked. Long story short, there are recruiters who know that getting recruits to lie helps their numbers. There are others that are more concerned about getting caught. If you actually want to get in, I would recommend that you get a list of medical conditions/drugs that would disqualify you before you admit to anything. Compare that list to your medical record and make sure nothing negative is in there. That's probably unethical, but no more so than instructing kids to lie in order to meet recruiting goals.


Do they go after your medical records? They can't legally do that, can they? Is it even possible to lie until you make it? I know I can do this, I know this is all I want to do, there is just one problem: actually getting hired. Once I'm in, I'm in, but getting in seems to be a giant problem. I know you can do a training here to help you prepare for joining, a lot of people do that so they can start out in a higher position or to increase their chances to get in, do you think that would increase my chances as well? If there is any miniscule chance to get in, I will hold on to it for my dear life, intending to never let it go. This is my Dream, I am not letting it go without a fight!!

Sorry for the bump, btw, I haven't been on for some time.



jn46036
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01 Apr 2013, 10:11 pm

AS runs in my family, and I am sure it was around long before people knew what it was. I am diagnosed ADHD but my kids Dr. asked if my kids got their AS from me lol (I don't have it???) Any way, long story short, I did fine in the Army and I am the poster child for socially awkward. My daughter has been trying to get in the Marines for 2 years, but can't seem to make up her mind. She just likes taking tests I guess? My son is going into the Army this summer, and he has AS with sensory issues and major conflict of personality and ZERO sensitivity....just what Uncle Sam asked for. As long as you can handle knowing someone is going to get in your face and scream for no reason and make you do stupid things that make no sense you will like it. Lots of physical work, and the mental thing is just trying to understand why everyone is being such a cry baby and taking it so personal. It's like a game, they are going to yell and no matter what you are wrong... as long as you can accept that you will succeed in boot camp. If you have OCD or love routine, the Military will give you lots of that. It's a very structured environment and I loved it.