Aspie joining the military?

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Joined: 24 Nov 2011
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15 Feb 2012, 6:36 pm

As far as I'm aware, it's not possible to get a waiver for an ASD. ADHD if you aren't on medication for a set amount of time. This is going by memory.

One of the downsides of an official diagnosis. Police and whatnot are all exempt too.

Alexender
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15 Feb 2012, 6:37 pm

Dillogic wrote:

You have to have been off of medication of any type for a year to join the military

You might be right for asd waiver, I didn't have a need to look into it

HellRazzer7878
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15 Feb 2012, 6:37 pm

Raptor wrote:

I was in the air force. I'm not trying to sell the AF but being an aspie or HFA you might want to consider that since living conditions tend to be better than other branches (not 100% guaranteed, though). By that I mean more space and privacy in your living quarters. My younger brother was in the navy and spent most of his 4 years on a carrier where privacy and space were pretty much non-existent. Not to mention very long duty hours when the ship was underway and lots of noise all the time.
Regardless of what branch you go in I can assure you that basic training/boot camp will be a culture shock for you. It's that way for a reason and I can't fault it but for an aspie there's nowhere to escape to chill out for a while when you get overwhelmed. You'll be living in open bay barracks with about 50 others and doing everything with them so go figure. If you’re not a team player this is where you need to start being one in earnest and keep that mindset for the next four years.
After basic, tech school is a little better and you'll have more space to yourself and not quite as strict of a regimen.
Once you get to your first permanent duty station its considerably better still. I found people were generally more accepting of someone being a little unusual since you have people from all over the US and all walks of life coming together.
You could get assigned just about anywhere in the world so be aware of that.
It is a four or six year commitment so once you sign your life away and take the oath you are IN for the duration. Make sure that's what you can live with and choose your branch of service and specialty wisely.

HellRazzer7878 wrote:

Quote:

I don't understand why AS is considered "medically unfit" in the first place. That just doesn't make sense to me.

It doesn’t have to make sense. If you don’t have an official diagnosis and don’t tell them or anyone else how will they know? Again, though, make sure you’re up to it before you sign up and take the oath.

Good luck to you no matter what you do.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate your response and you are right there is a lot to think about.

davidalan11235813
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15 Feb 2012, 7:00 pm

HellRazzer7878 wrote:

davidalan11235813 wrote:

I'm active duty Navy myself (two years in on a six year contract). If you want to do it because you want to serve your country or anything of that ilk, go for it. But if it's just because you want structure, or you feel stuck in a rut, check your options on the outside first. There's a lot of structure, which is nice, but there's a LOT more forced socialization. And what's worse is that you're liable to be stuck with some genuinely repulsive people. I'm a nuke myself,and supposedly we're the "best and brightest" the enlisted ranks have to offer, but I've met some genuinely stupid obnoxious people through my work. And if you don't qualify for nuke, it'll only be worse. Furthermore, there's a lot of high stress meltdown inducing situations in training, and even more underway (flooding, fires, etc.). That said, I wouldn't take back what I've seen and done for the world. As hard as everything's been, I'm a better, stronger person for it.

Oh, I've been in plenty of situations with "forced socialization" fared pretty well. I think I would do much better if I want into a new place where I was more of an "unknown" and nobody knew me or about me. Your last sentence is the main reason I want to join to become a stronger person in general.

Well then, more power to you. Just make sure you do your shopping around if you're dead set on joining. As raptor wrote, the Air Force is better than most in terms of giving you more space/privacy than most branches (my first training command out of basic was at a joint base, so I got the chance to hang out with guys plenty of guys from other services). The Coast Guard is pretty much the same way as the Air Force. Really, depending on what job you get, the USCG & USAF tend to be a lot like civilian jobs, but with the job security of the military. However, if you're looking for a challenge/ seeing new things, the Marines or the Navy (especially the submarine corps) are the best bet. Just take a really hard look at what you actually want.

As far as the ASVAB goes, it's really not hard. I got a 99 myself, but anything above an 80 is golden, and easy to get. Brush up on basic math if you've been out of school for a while and you'll do fine on that, and as long as you're a somewhat avid reader you'll do fine on the English portion (really, it's all about retention and finding context clues).

And as far as the AS thing, yes, it's likely disqualifying if you disclose it, but if you don't it's a non issue (diagnosis or not)

_________________
"Nice to meet you Rose. Run for your life!"

Raptor
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15 Feb 2012, 8:37 pm

HellRazzer7878 wrote:

Raptor wrote:

Quote:

I don't understand why AS is considered "medically unfit" in the first place. That just doesn't make sense to me.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate your response and you are right there is a lot to think about.

I should add that for me it was one of the best choices and times of my life although it didn't seem like it in those first few hectic months...

Dilbert
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15 Feb 2012, 8:41 pm

Go Air Force if they'll take you. AF is the best.

USAF basic used to be easier. Nowadays USAF basic is patterned after the Army basic. Pretty much the same. So yeah prepare for a couple of months of hell.

Navy or USCG should be your next choice.

Don't even consider Army or Marines. Please just don't. Trust me.

You'll need to learn how to work well with people you don't like. I think that's the number 1 advice I can give you. You'll be working (and LIVING!) closely with people you'd normally never want to socialize with.

Alexender
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15 Feb 2012, 8:50 pm

Dilbert wrote:

Navy or USCG should be your next choice.

Don't even consider Army or Marines. Please just don't. Trust me.

I agree with that. I told my parents I wanted to join the military and they told me as long as I didn't join the marines or army they were okay with it.

Which is better navy or airforce?
Navy you get paid a little better (sea pay, sub pay)
airforce supposedly has slower time to rank up.
One of the top jobs is navy nuke

Obviously I am biased towards navy, I thought about both and decided navy for the nuke job. 12k sign on bonus. A lot of it was because the recruiter for the airforce didn't sell it as well too.

After saying that, both are just as good. Just figure out what job you want to do and which branch offers it. But you will not forsure get the job you want most of the time. For airforce the recruiter said you would put 7 jobs you would like and your job would be one of those

Raptor
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15 Feb 2012, 8:59 pm

Dilbert wrote:

Quote:

You'll be working (and LIVING!) closely with people you'd normally never want to socialize with.

And also some of the best people you'll ever meet.
At least in my experience I met a lot more good than bad.

Dilbert
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15 Feb 2012, 9:01 pm

^^Absolutely true!

But all it takes is one rotten apple in your unit to ruin the entire deployment.

Danimal
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15 Feb 2012, 11:47 pm

I served in the Army from 1984 to 2005. The structure of military life was appealing to me. Although I was forced to interact with many people, I had ways to have time alone. I think it was clear to the people with whom I served that I was different and had a difficult time understanding things. Sometimes my AS led to disagreements and fights. However, there were some understanding people that helped me and protected me.
I had difficulty with physical tasks. I simply cannot throw a ball, so the grenade course was very difficult for me. My spatial awareness isn't very good, either. Activities such as rapelling and obstacle courses were also very hard for me. I required extra attention in learning how to march. I had an odd gait, and I had to be taught to march and run correctly.
Overall, the Army was a good experience for me because I was forced to overcome some of the difficulties of my AS.
If you have a formal diagnosis of AS and/or ADHD, I don't think you will be accepted into the military.

Ames76
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16 Feb 2012, 2:58 pm

:oops: I tried, right out of HS. I'm not officially Dx with AS. Everybody said that I wouldn't be able to do it, but I was bound and determined to prove them wrong. I was in basic for two weeks before I threatened suicide, just to get out. I wasn't good enough. Everybody else seemed to be breezing through everything that they were told to do and I was constantly getting yelled at because I couldn't get things right and the stress of knowing it wasn't right and knowing I was in trouble just made it 100x worse and I just broke and had to get out. Very few people know that about me, as I'm not proud of it, but wanted to give you an honest answer on how it was for me.

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