No Aspies in the military?

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What do you think about the decision to exclude people with Asperger's from the US military?

I think it is a good decision.	14%	[ 21 ]
Overall, I think it's good, but there should be an examination or something similar to that effect.	13%	[ 19 ]
Overall, I think it's a bad decision. People should only be excluded for physical disabilities or severe mental disabilities.	41%	[ 60 ]
This is a terrible decision. This is discrimination!	32%	[ 47 ]

Total votes : 147

LP0rc
Raven
Raven

Joined: 26 Aug 2009
Age: 59
Gender: Male
Posts: 114

30 Aug 2010, 12:29 am

I did my 4 years active duty with few issues.

It's all a live action role play game.

Had no problems filling an E7 slot as an E4(p). The Full Birds and up came to me when others told them something could not be done because that was my specialty, making the impossible possible by sheer audacity. Mission oriented. Hoo-ah.

glider18
Supporting Member

Joined: 8 Nov 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,062
Location: USA

30 Aug 2010, 5:47 pm

Although I am a firm believer in equal rights for all of us, if I were at risk for being drafted (being right age, etc.) I would be most grateful for this military rule banning us with autism from being in the military.

I cannot think of many occupations (if any) that would have been worse for me than the military. To have a drill sargeant screaming in my face and trying to make me feel like a piece of crap would definitely have sent me into meltdown mode. I am not the type to take orders in this manner. I also would feel like I was in prison---loss of my freedom. I need a lot of "my time" without the interference from others. So the military would have been a personal hell for me.

_________________
"My journey has just begun."

Kenani
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 53
Location: California

30 Aug 2010, 8:16 pm

Does anyone know the position of the Israeli military?

danandlouie
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 27 Jul 2010
Age: 78
Gender: Male
Posts: 796
Location: rainbow bridge

30 Aug 2010, 10:13 pm

the israelis have a procedure......if you can breathe, you're in for 2 years at age 20. you have to be seriously insane to get out of serving.

thanks to all of you that think going in the military shows how 'stupid' you are. how special you are for such insight.

i joined at 17, as soon as i finished high school because i was completely alone. no one to help me in any way. not a penny to my name. homeless. not a genius like you guys are but smart enough to join mensa as an adult. at 25 or so took act test...av 31 or something like that. long time ago. obviously i'm so dumb my memory is just pathetic.

i'm fairly certain i have a.s. 158/200. i rose rapidly through ranks because many of the other members were, to my estimation, out to lunch. a.s. should not disqualify a person for military service if they can handle the stress.

sorry, my white trash background requires me to attend to my reading assignment, 'bobby finds a shell'.

ruveyn
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Age: 88
Gender: Male
Posts: 31,502
Location: New Jersey

31 Aug 2010, 4:59 am

Kenani wrote:

Does anyone know the position of the Israeli military?

Everyone fights except for a certain deferred group of Orthodox Jews and Druse.

Even the physically disabled serve within the bounds of their physical disability.

ruveyn

Samarium
Butterfly

Joined: 30 Aug 2010
Age: 49
Gender: Male
Posts: 16

31 Aug 2010, 3:00 pm

I have a friend whom served in the original gulf war. He has HFA (not diagnosed until years later). He is a decorated war hero and highly intelligent.

Brianm
Blue Jay

Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posts: 83

31 Aug 2010, 8:08 pm

I'd never want to be in the military unless maybe I worked on their computers. I don't think I could stand being startled by the sound of gunshots. I think overall it's a good decision.

aspiemom1
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Posts: 44

26 Sep 2010, 4:39 pm

so seriously, speaking as one who was "enlisted", um yeah, this kind of sucks. speaking as a mother of 2 aspie sons, nope, right no, keep my kiddos at home. speaking from experience, if the gov is going to make this a rule (as they appear to have done), then they best get their happy butts to DLI (Defense Language Institute) and oh any other intel school, as well as all units who have any type of troops supplied by said schools and start kicking people out. seriously, DLI, really there were more aspies there when i was there, than you could count. um yeah way to go... lets kick out all the intelligent people.

aspiemom1
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Posts: 44

26 Sep 2010, 4:40 pm

so seriously, speaking as one who was "enlisted", um yeah, this kind of sucks. speaking as a mother of 2 aspie sons, nope, right on, keep my kiddos at home. speaking from experience, if the gov is going to make this a rule (as they appear to have done), then they best get their happy butts to DLI (Defense Language Institute) and oh any other intel school, as well as all units who have any type of troops supplied by said schools and start kicking people out. seriously, DLI, really there were more aspies there when i was there, than you could count. um yeah way to go... lets kick out all the intelligent people.

Squirrelrat
Velociraptor

Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 448

27 Sep 2010, 6:25 am

Being neurotypical, from what I've seen, is pretty much a disorder by itself. It just isn't counted as a disorder because neurotypical people are the majority. Just because they can't be diagnosed with anything doesn't mean that they are immune to all mental/emotional problems that come with just being a human. Not allowing people with Asperger's to join will hurt the military, not help it. People with Asperger's tend to have the valuable, nerdy type of personality that is great for intellectual work. My father was an x-ray technician for the military, and he had all of the symptoms of Asperger's (though he wasn't diagnosed).

pumibel
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 3 Mar 2010
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,477

27 Sep 2010, 11:56 am

ryanms92 wrote:

I can't believe I didn't see this until now. I'm not sure if this has been discussed on the forums before. I didn't see anything.

Anyways, on April 28 of this year (2010) the US military announced that people with Asperger's were no longer qualified to serve.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this to be honest. On the one hand, it is the responsibility of the military to pick the most able-bodied men possible. And let's face it, people with Asperger's will face problems doing something like this. On the other hand, I don't feel that the United States should just exclude all the people with Asperger's without an examination. For example, my case is fairly mild, and if I wasn't diagnosed, the military probably wouldn't notice or care.

What do you think?

Did it say if members who were diagnosed while serving were to be discharged? I was in for 12 years, and I found that people who were diagnosed with disqualifying illnesses while serving were not always discharged. They had to meet a medical board to see if this would happen. If you are medically retired you receive a monthly pension, but not for a regular medical separation. It depends on how long you served whether you get the retirement or separation.

pumibel
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 3 Mar 2010
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,477

27 Sep 2010, 12:02 pm

Chronos wrote:

I do not think having AS should be an automatic disqualifier for military service as there is too much variation between individuals to make much in the way of accurate assumptions concerning abilities.

I am willing to bet, that if the military did instigate such a policy, it was likely to avoid lawsuits by parents who claimed their children with AS were taken advantage of by military recruiters.

As a person who has taken much interest in the military in the past, I can assure you, if you are taken advantage of by a recruiter, you are an idiot, and thus probably do not actually have AS (though may actually make quite a good soldier as you obviously follow orders well).

I imagine with most medical disqualifiers you can appeal for a waiver.

Chronos- just being interested in the military does not make you qualified to make these comments. I find this offensive and I bet other Vets will too! Recruiters lie- it's a fact. They promise things to people to get them to join. They also lie by omission. They get paid bonuses for recruiting, and the more people who join, the higher the bonus.

pumibel
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 3 Mar 2010
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,477

27 Sep 2010, 12:04 pm

Chronos wrote:

auntblabby wrote:

well gee, thanks a helluva lot, fella :roll:

i was "taken advantage of" by a recruiter so i must be an idiot

At the time, I would imagine. If you would like to illustrate how, at the time, you were not, you may do so.

Or, if you feel you have a word which is more descriptive of your state of reasoning at the time, you may offer that as well.

auntblabby wrote:

have you served in the military?

I participated in a military auxilary program towards officer training school but was unable to enter into a contract due to a decline in my physical health, which, despite encouragement from my superiors, I decided not to pursue a medical waiver for. I greatly enjoyed the time I spent in the military environment and had I not been so afflicted I would have continued with my training.

So you don't know s**t but feel compelled to judge people.

pattheaspie
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 8 Jul 2010
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 64
Location: st paul

04 Oct 2010, 3:06 am

if a Patriotic soldier who loves their country and is willing to Die for it
just cause they happen to Be a aspie
They should have every Right to Serve

ruveyn
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Age: 88
Gender: Male
Posts: 31,502
Location: New Jersey

04 Oct 2010, 1:24 pm

pattheaspie wrote:

if a Patriotic soldier who loves their country and is willing to Die for it
just cause they happen to Be a aspie
They should have every Right to Serve

If that Aspie is qualified for the service into which he enlists, I agree. First and foremost one must be able for the job.

ruveyn

kala
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 4 Oct 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 3

05 Oct 2010, 7:36 pm

A more practical, and less philosophical note, I enlisted in the Coast Guard, but found that I couldn't get through the boot camp. In may ways it is an Aspie's worst nightmare. Tons of rote memorization under pressure, complicated drill movements that I couldn't properly execute, drill sergeants yelling in your face and grabbing/pushing/pulling you if you so much as stand in the wrong place, crowds, and lines, and huge amounts of stress. It was very possibly one of the worst experiences of my life. I was, eventually, and to my relief discharged for "adjustment disorder"....

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