In the Military, I suspect I have Aspergers

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they wont kick you out for having AS...
i was going to join, and told them i had AS, and thats not why i didnt get in. i didnt get in because of the drug test lol. they told i could reapply in so many months, but i didnt bother. then i got a letter from them asking if i was still interested, but lazy old me ignored it.

After I completed my basic training (Vietnam era) we then we assigned our "Job" We then were sent to a tech school to be trained in that job> I went to medical corpsman tech shcool in Witchita Falls TX.

So, I believe Matt is actively in the Air Force attending his tech shcool training.

By the way, it was a b***h memorizing all the ranks in basic. I could visualize the patch of rank (having a partial photographic memory helps sometimes) just had to remember the name! I got into trouble once there as I did not salute an officer as we walked by each other because I was trying to remember what his rank was!

Cheers

I just got out of the air force in october last year. I was in contracting(acquisitions). My whole 1 year and 3 months of service were plagued with misunderstandings and misfortune. This is not to say the AF or the military is bad for aspies, but there is a reason why they usually wont let you in unless you test very well with a disability like autism or asperger's syndrome. If you are good at your job and are tested and found to be autistic, they may allow you to stay in a non combat non supervisional job(certain circumstances could change the supervisional condition).

Then again, if you arent performing to par, they will diagnose you with a more simple diagnosis like PTSD or social anxiety, clinical depression. This way they can discharge you administratively while still giving you a honorable discharge. This is NOT a medical discharge tho!! ! You will not get any help from the air force once you are out. The Va will now take over your case and they will waste time and make things hard to get your benefits.

Point of the matter is this. Either way is arduous at best. You will meet obstacles in either scenario and there are some other ways it can all play out. Really, its up to you how well this works for you. If you really want it and are willing to deal with stressors, if you are willing to absorb yourself with work during the day time and friends at night, you can make it. I was stationed in ALASKA, at Eielson AFB. Let me assure you there were good people there, but the surrounding enviroment is depressing and expensive. And even though there were SOME good people, many were Social jerks atg best.

The militaries form of health coverage and benefits is not as great as it seems. You have just an equal shot to see an idiot doctor as a smart one on base as in the city. Also, many doctors feel airmen may just be trying to get out of work so they dont pay attention to symptoms. Air force has its ups and downs. Get a good base and a good job and you'll be ok. Dont get one of those and its gonna be a struggle. Dont get both and its almost impossible(not really but you get the message).

Good luck man

(trails off singing) "Off we go, into the wild blue yonder...."

I would NOT tell anyone about having AS. That's likely to bring you nothing but grief. The fact that they recruited you and you made it though Lackland means your pobably not too terribly afflicted. Tech school does kinda suck but it's not forever. I was in the USAF, too, and got along well enough. For me I had a better social life there than as a civilian. Not a great social life by any means but definately better. I was in aircraft maintenance on the flight line and could do that well enough to earn the respect of others to some degree. Go along and get along. Stay out of trouble.
Good luck and thanks for serving your country. You'll be glad you did.
Raptor

No disrespect, but why would anyone WANT to be in the military at this time? Is it just so you can get a free college education? If you really want to stay in like someone else said be careful of where you post stuff. Be careful to erase history and cookies on shared computers if you are posting from a public place.

That said I know people who are definitely on the spectrum and are retired military with honors.

I work with a guy I think was in Army and he's still quite young so I wondered why he was not sent overseas considering the military is short on troops. The guy seems to be in excellent physical health, very well built, but I overheard him say recently "They wouldn't let me back in". He seems very socialable but has the clueless tendacies, enormous head and weird gait of an Aspie. He also has no friends and pesters people at work by talking to people that don't want to talk to him. So I think he got kicked out for being autistic. Moral of the story don't be so obvious and don't ask don't tell.

I think what you're asking is why would anyone want to be in the Army / Marines and get sent over to Iraq. Air Force's deployment schedules are much wider and for much shorter than Army, and often to safter places. A lot of people I know went to Kuwait... hell, one even got deployed to Florida. I spent about three years in, never went overseas, and now I'm getting my way paid through college, although I think I benefitted from it "growing me up" more than the cash for school.

Also, definitely do not post here from a government computer. Erasing history and cookies isn't enough, they cache that kind of stuff on firewalls. If you have been, stop, otherwise don't do it .

There are quite a few. There is a serving RN officer here (has problems with the military) and quite a few with past military service. Mostly I know guys that don't post much anymore (Canyonwind, Scrapheap). I spent many years in the Infantry Reserves and loved it. I had always wanted to be an office in the Regular Army, but I was knocked back 2x.

I liked the structure of the military. You know your job and what to do and where you fit in

That was always the pull.

lol - exactly because it is THIS time. I have known guys in the reserves who left the regulars because they didn't want to be a peace-time soldier.

Yeah, I damn near signed up for the 1st gulf war; glad I didn't because it was over before I would have made it through basic.

The US air force isnt the only service to do this!! it shouldnt surprise people anymore as it makes business sense even if it can seem harsh. Medical discharge means a medical pension in many cases depending on service length etc. if they can administratively discharge you then they dont have to pay out. hence why it may be better for the military to diagnose only certain disorders.

PTSD is an unlikely formal diagnosis from any military shrink!! ! Diagnosing PTSD is admitting they messed you up!! ! they are only likely to diagnose PTSD if you have clear non-service causes for it.

Remember if they want to get rid of you there are loads of ways of doing so and will bend diagnosis to suit if needs be, or go down the "tempermentally unsuitable" route for administrative purposes. Likewise if you have good skills they value they can bend diagnosis to keep you in the Forces if your prospects for "recovery" seem quite good.

My problems are currently related to mental health. Alhougth my past does have other issues.

I agree the rules once you understand them are simple and you know where you fit in and what you do. the basic rules dont change.

Same with routines. the routines are very very similar regardless what ship you go on. so the basic daily routine stays same. Things like timetabled meal times, times when you change uniform, get up certain times, light out certain times etc etc.

The navy is best for this as even during war time the routine is similar and still regular and is more controlled than for example the army where your routine may well change daily depending on the mission at the time.

Also as an Officer in the Navy there is relatively little actual leadership. Most of it is management. the vast majority of the leadership is based around written procedures and operating lists. Even the decision making is simplified as there are usually only a few choices with obvious pros and cons of each.

Also as a naval officer, especially warfare, many of your jobs during the main part of your career are based around navigation and chartwork which is mainly a solitary task. you only have to interact to control the direction of ship and report to captain etc.

Also living in an Officers Mess at sea means you are shielded a lot. Your social failings will go largely unnoticed outside the confines of the 15 man officers mess, and social skills are barely commented on in reports. Normally such skill deficincies would get a one or 2 line comment in your report at the most and as such are insignificant. Even such events as cocktail parties and such like which you would expect to be difficult can be adapted to suit you. Especially as a junior officer it is common practice for your main job to be to escort guests from the gangway to where the party is happening, so very little need for spontaneous social interaction. Plus there are usually several junior officers so the tasks can be shared with one going to socialise with guests and chosing yourself to do the non social role.

Ive been lucky in my career to avoid as many social functions as possible or take a non social role in them. In foreign ports it is very easy to go ashore alone so you dont have to engagein the common difficult areas such as pubs etc. Worked for me so far with only minor comments in my reports about it as professionally i have no major problems. Only now in light of mental health problems is it finally being noticed as they have dug up all my old reports and are looking back for common themes which in my case are lack of social skills, interacting with peers, "preferring my own company" etc etc etc.

The only problem is eventully you will reach a stage in your career where social skills become an important aspect of your job and future role. I am rapidly approaching that stage of my career so for me i have to adapt and learn new skills/ act or pretend, or accept that future promotion is unlikely!

The main problem in the Armed Forces is the potential for bullying/harassment. you will be more vulnerable an an "easy" target especially if your social skills are obviously lacking compared to peers. Bullying etc has been stamped on a lot in recent years but still does go on sometimes and although the procedures for dealing with such cases are very good, it relys on the victim reporting the incidents.

I spent 6 years in the US Marine Corps. Specialized in booby traps, mines and demolitions. Did very well - got 2 meritorious promotions. They knew that something was different about me 30 years before I found out myself! But I was helping them work problems out of their designs, equipment and techniques, and they took me in as one of their own. (Back then, if you committed a crime and faced prison, you could chose to join the Marine Corps instead. We were a large group of misfits and I fit right in ) That isn't the case anymore. But - If you do your job, work hard, stay out of trouble while on leave - you'll be an asset and they won't mess with you. I got out when they offered me Staff Sergeant - I didn't want to lead others. I like doing the "hands on" myself. I never wanted anyone but me doing the wiring, etc. Never fully trusted that anyone else was learning correctly, so largely worked alone. They gave me the complicated jobs and gladly let me go about my business of getting the job done. Don't know if they allow this anymore. Good luck to you, and thank you for your service!

On the plus side - 6 years of Marine Corps martial arts really improved my coordination!