The military and you?

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I wasn't referring to you.

I was referring to a hypothetical situation in which the US instituted a conscription because it didn't have enough volunteers to go die as foot soldiers in some far-away bloodbath. This is what happened in Vietnam 40 years ago.

when it came to that, i had always simply known the military was not for me so it hadn't really been an issue -

i simply did not show up when i got drafted

they showed up a couple of days later;
& i spent eight weeks in Her Majesty's detention,
in solitary confinement actually
(in view of the morale of the other detainees - this is true)

awaiting a trial&sentence to two years -
when, one day before the main event,
they decided i had suddenly become medically unfit -
as a result of a series of suddenly developed allergies
(including specifically the wool of the socks on my feet at the time, and,
ironically & the more so in retrospect, other people's hair)

i guess i had a pretty good argument, that they did not really want to get into

(i did prepare my case - as the matter of principle it was - but i did not appeal on conscience or religious belief, i simply protested the freedom of choice & therefore the legality of the idea of conscription)

i was actually sad that my case would go unheard

just a couple of years later,
Netherland abolished the temporary enslavement that is conscription
- but that had very little to do with little old oblionic me -

If you had advice to pass down to a 20 year old aspie thinking about it what would you tell him(me)? On one hand like another poster said I'm afraid I'll either end up like the guy on full metal jacket who killed himself or get a dishonorable discharge over something stupid and on the other hand retiring after 20 years is appealing and it seems like a "ticket" to independence.

they didint except me and now i have lot of free time

It is difficult to make a mistake bad enough to get into real trouble.
Pick out a job that you have a strong affinity for. Just don't sign up on an open contract, or you may end up in a job you hate, that would be rough. You will have people and tasks you won't like but they pass by quickly enough. The rest of it was an adventure I lived out everyday.

I've served in the Swiss army. I liked the fact that there was a rule for everything, and that superiors explained everything clearly. There was very little of the socialising crap that completely dominates civilian life - if you wanted to be left alone, you were left alone. I was usually posted up on some hill where there were hardly any other people, and got to see some beautiful scenery. I also had a lot of time to read and think.