Asperger's Syndrome and the Military

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Do the Israelis have any restrictions, regulations or laws not allowing people with any form of autism, including Asperger's and classic autism into the military ?

Initially getting into the military should not be the issue. [However, if you were Dx'ed prior to enlisting then that might pose as issue for MEPS] If you are going to a super technical field like being a nuke, IT, engineering, etc. then you should flourish, especially if you go Navy and end up on a submarine, as those things as jam-packed with awkward people as it is. However, anywhere else where all kinds of personality traits are around such as being on a ship or attached to a deployable unit such as a Construction Battalion or "greenside" like me and deploy with Marines, then that is where you might run into some obstacles.

If you are chill, relaxed and not much of an adrenaline seeker, then any MOS such as admin, computers, engineering, nuke (huge one) is all for you. In contrast, if you're the motivated prospect looking to kick down doors, blow sh*t up or sail from port to port with your crew, this can pose a problem as it is a social community with many people. My first assignment was easy as I worked at a small clinic with a very tight knit group so I felt comfortable but when I went greenside and was with the infantry, I felt ostracized as I was now "the boot" as well a Sailor among Marines so it didn't help that I sucked at engaging in conversation and didn't do well at telling stories like these guys were. It got worse when it came to field exercises and instructions were passed constantly so I struggled when it came to remembering fine details such as maneuvering and direction and which squad was doing what. I would forget the information and would lag behind my squad during live-fire maneuvering and if it were actual combat, I could easily be responsible to endangering myself or my guys because my inability to adjust on the fly and/or comprehend fast-paced directions.

Basically, doing infantry/special forces, serving on a ship, or any other motivated MOS where you are constantly in close-quarters with your co-workers on and off work might be a challenge if you severely struggle with social interaction and new settings. However, if you can wing it and are good at effectively audibly processing fast-paced dictation then sky is the limit for you. Most military (or at least in the case of Sailors and Marines) the bar is at least 90% of where off-time will be spent. Just sip a bit with them (most of them will be sauced before the first hour passes anyway) and your alcohol confidence should kick in. A fun night at the bar with board games thrown into the equation is always an easy and fun story to bring up when you guys are in misery during a field op or a deployment. Best of luck to all those hoping to serve alongside the ones who protect this fine nation.

So I talked to one of my Army recruiter's co-workers and he said that the doctor at MEPS going through my paperwork disqualified me a week ago. Is there any way that I can still join, such as a waiver ? Also, I'm looking at joining the Marines but only as a last resort if my waiver is denied or if the waiver request is denied.

What were you disqualified for ?Did you mention autism/aspergers ?


Theres 0 reason to mention it EVER ,same with medication .If anyone asks you're taking no medication and you have no mental health issues,you've never thought or attempted suicide ,you have no social anxiety etc . No one plays by the rules kiddo ,it's just everyone else is smart enough to keep their mouth shut .

The doctor at MEPS reviewing my paperwork knows that I have Asperger's. But my recruiter doesn't. Come on man, what do you expect me to do ? The recruiter and the doctor can't process me if I don't tell the truth if I have anything that could prevent me from being eligible for military service. Otherwise, you know as well as I do that I can be charged with fraudlent enlistment if I enlist and they find out that I had a learning disability but I didn't tell them about it and lied about it.

Having been quiet for quite some time now about this, i've decided to go public.

Being employed in the Swedish Military right now, i can give you some pointers:

1. Aspies - or NT's - that have problems following orders while wearing any kind of uniform do not last long. I know one guy who works in the home guard that gave me good indications of him being an Aspie and he have a good service record - so being an Aspie does not rule it out. If you are low functioning - do not even bother.

2. Being overly analytical, specialised and very good at one thing gives you an advantage over NTs. There are other careers available besides the Army, Navy and Airforce. Logistics was mentioned ealier in the thread is a good bet. IT is another obvious career. Just make sure to stay away from positions with too much office politics, there are plenty of normal people who have problems working together towards one direction and love to play these kinds of games for personal benefit.

3. If you apply, be open. If they want to be as*holes - they will be that. People who recruit people are quite often ignorant and close minded and have a knee jerk reaction to all sorts of psychiatric conditions. If you get a job while being honest, you get good and understanding collegues. I was open from the beginning and said that "I've studied myself for a while and i'm almost certain i have some sort of Autism". They hired me anyway.

4. Even in a government agency like the military without any demands on making money, you have to deliver on time. If your boss says. "I need this document by tomorrow" - you better deliver it tomorrow, noonish latest unless a time was specified. Time is a substitute for Money, and even NT's fail at this and can drag on for weeks with their document writing and revisioning.

5. Sometimes even civilians get training. I got firefighting and first aid training that was compulsory. I made two observations about these courses that are critical:

* Medical training requires you to touch and be touched by others. If you are not ok with that, you will fail. Period.
* Firefighting exposes your senses to heat and bright light. If you are not ok with that, you will fail. Period.

6. As a civilian you usually get your own area of responsibility, i.e. if you work as an analyst in say, IT, you get to do that without other people interfering (much). If you are a military guy/gal, you are expected to follow orders and do things that others say. This may include going abroad and shooting at people. Most people have problems with this and people in uniform are expected to be able to do this. Civilians are not and may be a good alternative to applying for a uniform wearing position. I for one, prefer not having dead people on my conscience.

Having worked for around 6 years in the armed forces, i can say that there have been times and places that have given me problems because i am an Aspie - and there have been other times and places that have made me fit right in and performed very well because i am an Aspie. The one biggest problem i have is keeping my mouth shut when it comes to NOT pointing out idiots who do stupid, ineffective or pointless things and waste taxpayers money.

My conclusion: the worlds defence forces could use a few more aspies. Banning Aspies is really thickheaded and prevents unique specialised skills from entering the service. It should be up to the individual to prove that he or she is fit for duty - whatever that may be.

But if any psychiatric conditions should be banned from entering the service it should be Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder and Psychopathy (ASPD). People in the Antisocial spectrum disorders group cause lots of problems by their nature, and people in general prefer to not be around these manipulative, deceptive, egotistical, prone to violence, shallow and powerhungry people who only care about themselves.

Well why you let the doctor know I'll never understand . Noone would have ever found out if you kept your mouth shut ,and they wouldn't charge you with fraudlent enlistment unless you f****d up big time and they wanted to dig into your past.


Fact is the world doesn't revolve around you and you're just a number to them ,so stop being paranoid and try a different branch . Altho in the post 9/11 world all the agency's seem to be sharing records so on second thought your probbly screwed .


Best bet now is to go see a new DR and have them say your cured .