Asperger's and Millitary

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I think I might have found another post like this but If I am reviving that oldpost, I apologize.

Recently, almost every two weeks I will get a call from the US Marines.
I gave them an open mind and I talked to them but I feel I have been royally swindled.
I have an interest in the military but I do not know what force I want to go into.
Having Asperger's sometimes I have an ability to be gullible. I'm trying to discern truth from BS, but sometimes I can't really know how.
I want to be successful and want to be on my own, but how I do that is up to me.

Best Regards,

Jake

Asperger's, in and of itself, is not necessarily a disqualifier. As with psychologists/psychiatrists encountering it, they treat symptoms which can and do interfere with one's ability to function relatively normally in society. The list of military medical & psychological disqualifiers are attached below. Although Asperger's isn't a disqualifier, some of its comorbids like depression and anxiety are.

Militry Disqualifiers

http://www.military.com/join-armed-forc ... tions.html

That's the site for those with linkage issues.

Last edited by redrobin62 on 10 Dec 2012, 2:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

In the british Army having Aspergers Officaly Diagnosed is a instant No go with the Armed forces. As for you Americans. . . no idea

page wouldn't load for whatever reason, despite repeated tries. anyways, anything which would interfere with field military operations is a no-go. amblyopia, scoliosis beyond a moderate curvature [i was at the very limit with my 14.7 degree bend between t8-t14], mental illness in general, arthritis, missing any body parts from the git-go [as opposed to already being in and losing them], criminal record beyond one misdemeanor, alcoholism, history of drug use, failure of entry UA, less than honorable discharge from any branch of service- this list is just for starters.

i'd like to go to army as long as i'm not with the stupid animals.

some of the "stupid animals" are likely to be your direct superiors. i speak from experience.

I have a friend who would agree, he was almost shot by a "superior" officer on the training range.

Does anyone know what it's like in the Netherlands? I used to go to a school with a lot of Aspies, and I know some joined (don't know any of them personally but I heard it from my teacher). So from that I gather that it's possible. However, and I would rather not go into detail, but at some point I have been hospitalized while there was no reason to, and my doctor also acknowledged it was a mistake. However I am still worried that this might be an issue.

Agreed, from experience. The military is also a hyper-social group where these guys communicate at a very close-knit level. Our Aspergers gives us a broken antenna and we can't pick up on most of the unspoken communication going on... it's no guarantee of suffering and being ostracized, but a high probability. On the plus side, it could lead to getting a desk job somewhere? [shrug]

I thrived in my 5 years of air cadets and the marching band but I really didn't fit in among the regular military.

If a recruiter says it, it's probably BS The military does not seem like a good fit for AS because there seems to be a huge disconnect between the official regulations (all the military does is generate paperwork) and how things really operate. Probably the best job for AS would be some kind of warrant officer who does a specialized task, on base, with minimal supervision. Basic and AIT would be very, very difficult since you have zero privacy and zero downtime to recover. If you are sensitive to noise, you might not get along well with your DI since they tend to yell a lot. (You'd also have to know when the DI was being sarcastic to motivate you vs giving orders.) Basic and AIT seems like it would be the worst. After that, if you have the right niche, you might be in a good position. You'd also have to be prepared for the incredible crudeness of the recruits and soliders, which might be a shock to people with AS.

Most branches have a list of what does and doesn't disqualify you.

Standards of Medical Fitness. Army Regulation 40–501
http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r40_501.pdf

The Navy or Marines probably have something similar. I don't see anything like autism listed.

I think Rod Powers has some good info about recruiting. I don't normally like about.com, either.

http://usmilitary.about.com/

He has a great ASVAB book. (If you want the cushy warrant officer job, you better ace the ASVAB!) I was amazed when I thumbed through it by how much I've forgotten. Most of it is aimed at kids just out of high school.

You probably want to get into the USAF first, since it has the most technical jobs of any of the three branches. The Marines are probably your last choice, since they are low-tech. The Army and Navy are about 50/50.

there are lots of gray-haired air force staff sergeants, IOW rank comes most slowly in the air force as they have been "top-heavy" for the last few decades. and in each service that uses warrant officers, there is an exceptionally rigorous warrant officer candidate basic course that is about as tough as they come, with lots of psychological "head games" inflicted upon the candidates to weed out the weak-minded.

What are you hoping to gain from the military?

I joined the Marines out of high school (1984) because I knew I wasn't disciplined enough for school or anything else. Didn't know anything of my possibly having AS at the time. It helped a lot in many ways. Probably frustrated the Marine Corps more than me since my dad was a career soldier of high rank... I knew what I could get away with without going to the brig and loved "sticking it to the man" if you want my honesty. I'm glad I did it though. If you can survive the mind games they play in the military... everything else in life is a cakewalk.

However, I'm not sure I would recommend the military for anybody due to the way the politicians use our service people with little discretion or thought these days.

i "survived" the head games of the military, but i can't say that everything else is a cakewalk.

Although I've mostly shut the door on all possibility of a military career because of Aspergers and applied to a few college courses The Pysch assessment I had asked for months ago is coming up. The original Idea behind it was because the Recruiters had told me they thought my social skills were fine and if I could get paper work backing it up they could try and push me through. However I've been told it's almost impossible to claim AS was a Misdiagnosis.

Still I doubt any one here is an expert but if I was to go to the Assessment, get the all clear or some kind of Greenlights for the military + paper work. Would you think they'd allow me a shot like they originally said?

I'm very mild, most people think I'm just quiet and reserved, and I don't tell anyone I have Aspergers. I've been trying to get into the army since high school (I'm on my fourth application) and they haven't said anything about it. The only reason I'm on my fourth application is because the first two times the trades I wanted closed, and most recently I wasn't cleared medically in time for a September enrollment in the Reserves (I have ridiculously mild asthma). This is the Canadian Forces though (the best Army there is), so I cannot comment on other countries.

from what i have found [by speaking with other canadian forces personnel] the canadian forces are a relatively civilized force of professionals, at least compared with what i experienced in my time in the american army.