Any aspies is/were on the military ?

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Oh ,yeah as you can see, I am new here. Anyways, recently, I have an interest pf joining the military when I am old enough. I am 16 right now, so they don't take child soldiers .

After doing some thorough research, I found out you would be DQ'd because of Asperger's

Here are the branches I would like to join ( in order of interest)

1- USAF or USN (tied)

2-US Marine Corps

I'm so not joining the US Army,

How was your stint in the military? Any combat experience? How did you get in? Did it change you for better or for worse? Would you serve again? Did you tell your recruiter you had Autism/ AS or did you hide it like Gay people hid their status before the end of DADT.A nd finally I prefer answers from folks who were already diagnosed at the time of service

PS I am motivated to serve my country, not because of some Modern Warfare crap!

North Park, good luck on finding people who served openly in the armed forces with AS. As you noted yourself, it's a disqualification. I served, but only because at the time there was no such diagnosis as AS.

I served in the US Army, 101st, as a helicopter mechanic/crew chief, still un-diag,

Why not the Army ?

> I actually enjoyed it
> No combat, just missed it
> Took ASVAB ,scored really high
> For better
> I'd do it over again
> had no idea I was aspie, nothing to tell recruter

@ gadge Cool. I said I didn't want to join the army because, well, I don't know. I WAS RUSHED when I made this post so now I might consider it. You didn't know you were aspie when you served. And based on what you said, I'd would probably do it again too.

@Dunnyveg totally sucks Since I was diagnosed with the Spectrum at age 5, I was not on any medication ( still med free to this day), psychiatric help of any sort, and I took special ed classes until 6th grade when I was mainstream ( and I don't regret it). Back to the original topic, I heard that well, it is waiverable, but their is a good chance that I (or any diagnosed aspie) would not see combat, or even get in.

PS I am not saying that I want to see combat on purpose, but it is good to prepare when the time comes.

Northpark, I certainly sympathize with any American wishing to serve their country. If you really want to serve, your best bet would be not to tell the recruiter, and choose an occupation that won't require a high security clearance (i.e., beyond confidential). A high security clearance means a serious investigation of your past; they will find out. If they do find out, the worst they can do is reject you. I'm guessing most recruiters will secretly admire your spunk.

I agree with the other poster. Though I chose the Navy because I wanted to see the world, the Army is a fine organization. I'm close to a bunch of retired Army officers who primarily served in intelligence (I served in naval intelligence) and SOF's. But I understand your choice. We all have our reasons.

The reason I wouldn't reject the Army is that at least when I was going in, they were the easiest branch to get into (Air Force was the hardest).

@ Dunnyveg Thanks! so here are the reasons I would join said branch

-USAF: The thought of being near aircraft, whether as a mech, or even a pilot, or crewmwmber, I can see the world, highest rentention rate (IDK why), and this sounds trivial but I heard the women are the best looking of the DOD ....you never know the last one could be a lie

-USN Again, for seeing the world. They too, have an aviation division..SEALS maybe like asking for too much.

US Marine- More of a challenge than the Army, though at first I disdaned the idea after watching the Marine bootcamp in the Discovery channel.

US Army : easier than the Marines and Bases all over the world.

I'll try to stay off positions that require top secret clearance.

Now on the recruiter part, I would hope he doesn't ask about ASD, I will not give out more info than required. Should he ask "Do you have a mental disorder" I would say no. Besides, it isn't like there is Aspie WW2 and Vietnam vet (I heard of one Aspie who was in the artillery division in Nam)

And finally, I keep hearing about "intelligence" in WP. I wonder what that is.

@ NorthPark
I just wanted to mention that I did hold a top secret security clearance and as far as I know all aviation requires it. To be a pilot you'd have to be an officer. I was considering going to warrant officer candidate school . I had all the requirements and recommendations done, and then I met the girl that I would eventually marry while home on leave.

Yes, I joined before I new I had AS/ASD, and even before it was officially recognized in the DSM.

I've been decorated, promoted six times in six years, and earned an honorable discharge.

was in the army in the middle 80s. the less said about it, the better.

I read the DoD pdf about medical standards, with a list of DQs weeks worth of reading. After finding " Pervasive Disorders like Autism and Asperger's" on the list of Medical DQs, I was starting to lose hope. So I checked with this website and someone a military lawyer (he was verified by the website) asked if people with Asperger's can join the US Miliatry, he said something along the lines of " While ASD/ AS is a DQ, he/she can still join with a waiver but because of the poor economy, it will be tough". That was said after 4/28/2010, when the DoD added AS as a DQ.

I heard almost an equal share of success and horror stories from Parents and the Aspies themselves about the military ( not necessarily US Military). Most of them didn't know of the time and a few got waivers.I would probably enlist during peacetime. The Iraq war is over and the Afghanistan Campaign should wrap up around the time of my 19th birthday. I would first not mention AS to the recruiter of whatever branch, that is unless, he/she makes references or blatantly ask about it.

I REALLY want to join the Canadian Forces, but the amount of people they're actually taking is incredibly low. I guess technically about 20 or so trades are open, but only like 4 are actually in demand. In addition, the majority are either things that sound incredibly mundane (musician, cook, etc) or are Officers, meaning I need a University education. If I'm going to join the army and spend most of my life in it, then I'm going to wait for the trades I'm interested in (the Combat Arms, so Armoured, Infantry, Artillery, or Engineer) to open. However, it's going to be afew years before ANY of those trades are in demand, so for now I'm going to college, and applying to the Oshawa Army Reserve unit next week. As you're American I can't really speculate on what it's like there, but I don't think AS is really an issue up here. At least, I hope...