Asperger's Syndrome and the Military

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Smartalex
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12 Apr 2012, 11:13 pm

I'm not an Aspie, but, I too am from Chicago, IL. the University system of IL is HUGE on engineering and computer science and my brother was a computer engineer who I visited often. I met tons of aspies but I didn't know they were. The airforce has the largest network of information technology aspects than any other branch.->It's no wonder they have an exception->if you're an aspie and you're good at IT they'll make an exception AND... if you're amazing at IT they'll kiss you butt and do everything get you.

Also, don't forget that now the DOD has TONS of civilian positions for IT and they LACK the restrictions on being an aspie or whatever.

I'm sorry to classify aspies as engineers and IT people but hell, if I wanna design something, get me an aspie!



jhighl
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19 Apr 2012, 8:19 pm

Hi i am new and have aspergers and i am thinking of joining the service. I already talked and there is a combat engineer job in the national guard for me. I am wondering do aspies do good in the service. I am kinda new to this and havent really thought of asperger to much exept for recently.



NMCB3299
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23 Apr 2012, 10:06 am

Yeah, I joined both the US Navy and the Army National Guard and both branches are tough in their own way. My advice is if you are nervous around loud noises' and guns' join the Navy. Most Navy jobs' do not require that you go to the rifle range. I was a cook and worked in barracks management which was like working at a hotel/motel. Also, Shopkeeper, IT and Firemen does not have a need for weapons qualification. Navy Seal, Shore Patrol, Gunners Mate and Master at Arms, the Seabees and Corpsman need to qualify with weapons'. Discuss your options' with a recruiter. Only once during basic did I fire an M-16 for the Navy. The Army and Air National Guards' are a different story since all rates' have a weapons' Qualification. In all branches' of the US Military you must be a team player and that will be stressed in boot camp. Most recruiters' offer a pre-bootcamp class to those signed up in the delayed entry program where they teach you how to do exercises for Physical Fitness, about what to expect in bootcamp and basic hygeine. If you sign up try to attend every such class and take notes' in a little notebook. These classes' proved very important to me in my preparation for going to bootcamp. :wink: :wink:



tarsonis
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01 May 2012, 1:23 am

I'm in the Air Force as a computer/network technician and joining was the best decision of my entire life.

I had a tough time at basic training adjusting to the military and the stress but once I got to technical training school I really have done very well. I've now been in for about a year and I love it. I highly encourage others with Asperger's to consider joining as long as you can get a job that suits your interest/ability.



kirt
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19 Jul 2012, 4:28 am

i was in the navy and it was terrible for me . i made it through boot camp probably only because they made me the company master at arms . but in electronics school i had a terrible time and ended up losing my school and being sent to the fleet where i was a boatswain's mate .. aftter 2 years i got an OTH .. i was never more relieved when i got out .. i wouldn't reccomend anyone with aspergers symptoms to join . but obviously some people can deal with it



Toy_Soldier
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25 Jul 2012, 7:33 pm

Hi,
Been looking into this a bit, mainly the Air Force with which I am most familiar. The meat and potatos seems to be: Aspergers is a disqualifying medical condition, it is waiverable, but these waivers are not easy to get. Heres an interesting post from a military subject forum:

"[–]NotMahChair 1 point 1 month ago
I just got a waiver from the Air Force for ADHD and Asperger's Syndrome. The Surgeon General had to sign off on it and it took 4 months to get pushed through, but it was worth it. I also had a psychiatrist note that said my symptoms were severely diminished and that my ASD was nonexistent presently. Don't quote me on this, but I think your recruiter should be able to appeal the waiver. Best of luck to you bid.
"

The link (the above post is about 10 or so posts down from top)

http://www.reddit.com/r/Military/commen ... y_options/

It sounds like you get only one chance at a waiver so it should be as good a 'package' as you can make it. Besides requiring the Doctor's letter and all records of treatment, etc, within stated time period, I believe it can also include reference letters and recomendations (from teachers, pastors, coaches, employers, professionals, etc.) and other evidence of your ability to adjust to military life (ie, your participation and record in sports, a service related, or paramilitary organization such as Volunteer Fireman, Scouting, Civil Air Patrol). Your school grades, SAT scores, ASVAB scores and Physical results may also all be pertinant.

In short my initial impression is: Getting in with diagnosed Aspergers is difficult to do, but if you really want it, and are willing to work hard to prepare, it's possible.

As far as determining if you would like the military there is a wealth of info online. Go to The Air Force Basic Training site and see each phase and what you will be doing (with pics). The other Official Air Force sites have material covering tech schools, bases, deployments, etc. All the services have similiar sites, and forums about the military abound. You should be able to glean a pretty good idea what it will be like and decide whether it's something you can definately do, or not.

My guess, would be the Air Force would be the most Aspergers friendly, job and life-style wise, but unfortunately it is perenially the most difficult to get in for anyone, NT or AS. But year after year they need to put many 1000's of folks in ( about 29,000 were recruited into Air Force in 2011) and most recruiters will take more seriously those who work the hardest to get in, those who want it the most.



donryanocero
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26 Jul 2012, 12:47 am

jhighl wrote:
Hi i am new and have aspergers and i am thinking of joining the service. I already talked and there is a combat engineer job in the national guard for me. I am wondering do aspies do good in the service. I am kinda new to this and havent really thought of asperger to much exept for recently.


I haven't been diagnosed with AS, but it's very obvious to me after learning about the characteristics. I was a combat engineer for 4 years, 7 months, 2 days active duty, and 3 years in the reserves. I was a squad leader and made the rank of Staff Sergeant. I passed Airborne, Air Assault, and Jumpmaster school among others without much difficulty. I could never hit a baseball or kick a soccer ball when I was young, but slowly gained sufficient control of my body through extensive training (aikido has helped me more than anything with this). I made about 50 parachute jumps and participated in highly complex training exercises and combat missions.

It was very easy for me to excel in some ways because standards and requirements are usually spelled out clearly. I only made one friend while I was in the Army and was always "f#ck!ng weird" to everyone else. I had trouble with basic training and cried myself to sleep most nights, especially the first days. Drill sergeants played a lot of mind games and I didn't really get them. I think they were okay with me being different as long as I excelled where it mattered, and always followed instructions to the letter. Rhetorical questions were a nightmare throughout my time in the Army. Dealing with authority was sometimes difficult, especially when wielded by morons on power trips. Most NCOs and officers are incredibly professional and this wasn't too much of an issue for me. One time I refused to do what a sergeant told me to do ( can't remember the circumstances ), but I think it was more or less dismissed as combat stress and I was just verbally berated.

I spent a year in Iraq and a year in Afghanistan pulling triggers, blowing things up, and clearing mines and roadside bombs. Combat was a nightmare. I don't do well with loud sounds. Luckily for me, all military training is based on rehearsing and practicing to the point where only a small amount of spontaneous thinking is required.

The worst thing that ever happened to me was losing it on a soldier of mine and calling him "a lazy piece of s**t." I still haven't forgiven myself for this and it makes me feel horrible to think about it.

When I got out of the Army I was diagnosed with PTSD, bipolar disorder, and OCD. I've come to realize that the true root of my issues is AS, and I've grown much more comfortable in life by understanding that my brain works differently. I'm going to talk to a Veterans Affairs psychiatrist and my university's psychologist to confirm my self diagnosis and see where to go from here.

I think that while you'll have many unique challenges you'll have to face on your own, you'll also have unique skills that may place you above your peers. It will probably come down to how well you can fake being 'normal' and how long you can tolerate doing this without becoming exhausted and losing it.

I hope this helps, and good luck with whatever choice you make.



Toy_Soldier
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26 Jul 2012, 10:12 am

donryanocero wrote:
I think that while you'll have many unique challenges you'll have to face on your own, you'll also have unique skills that may place you above your peers. It will probably come down to how well you can fake being 'normal' and how long you can tolerate doing this without becoming exhausted and losing it.


Actually much of what you wrote was familiar to me, though I think I have a little milder version, as friends was a bit easier and I never feared losing it.

But social interaction was the main difficulty throughout, and I too found it worked best to fake normalcy to fit in and avoid continual problems. Fortunately I liked sports and early on that was the most socially acceptable facade to hide behind, and while actually doing sports there is not much communication or chat anyway. I also would set up little havens of solitude and privacy when ever possible and let my mind do it's natural thing, hiding my nerdy interests from others, so they wouldn't think me weird.

I liked the challenges and variety, and adapted eventually to the strict code. I did have a period of getting in a lot of trouble being a independant thinker. Getting past that required buying in to the military's game. It felt like selling out at the time, but I was OK with it later as I became more interested in it as a full career and understood the reasons and more or less agreed with it.



AutisticAmerican24
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10 Apr 2013, 3:26 pm

Hello, Fellow-High functioning autistics. I was wondering, can I join the military even if I do have Asperger's and if regulations change all the time and if I am qualified, what type of records do I have to bring ? And why do regulations change all the time ?



sixteenornumber
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11 Apr 2013, 6:45 am

AutisticAmerican24 wrote:
Hello, Fellow-High functioning autistics. I was wondering, can I join the military even if I do have Asperger's and if regulations change all the time and if I am qualified, what type of records do I have to bring ? And why do regulations change all the time ?


Having spent 9 years in the Air Force I can tell you this. You won't get any special treatment and you will face some tough times but it is possible. PM me if you want more specific info.



KF2M
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25 Apr 2013, 1:22 pm

I made it through six years in the Army about 30 years ago. I was a RTO (Radioman..er...person). Was trained as a Special Electronics Device Repairman (35E). Since most of the gear I worked on was very high-end electronics (night vision, field artillery computers, ground RADAR, EDME) and units were loath to use them since it costs big bucks to fix I didn't have much to do. With my radio background (licensed Ham Radio Operator since age 12) I got moved to a position working on and operating radio gear. Lots of funtimes, lots of crappy times. Got to work with some really cool people, and lots of AH's. Got to work in a joint service task force upgrading comm gear.



MDD123
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25 Apr 2013, 9:24 pm

AutisticAmerican24 wrote:
Hello, Fellow-High functioning autistics. I was wondering, can I join the military even if I do have Asperger's and if regulations change all the time and if I am qualified, what type of records do I have to bring ? And why do regulations change all the time ?


Not bringing up the AS is a good place to start, I'm dead serious it'll only give them a reason to disqualify you. If you luck out and they waiver you in, nobody is going to cut you any slack for having AS, it's just a liability.



AutisticAmerican24
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27 Apr 2013, 9:55 pm

But if I go and tell the recruiter / doctors that I don't have Asperger's, and he / she goes ahead and accesses / requests my medical records and sees that I have it, then I could be charged with fraudulent enlistment for lying about it.



AutisticAmerican24
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26 May 2013, 10:36 pm

hitokage wrote:
I came across this just the other day - as of April 28, 2010 DoD Directive 6130.03 added among many things Asperger Syndrome to the medical standards - see this PDF (listed on page 42 - section starts on page 41).


I think some kind of campaign to repeal this is in order.

And just how exactly are you suggesting that we do so ? You're saying that we should sue the government in order to remove the ban, like the A.C.L.U., did when they filed that lawsuit against the D.O.D. on behalf of women in the military in order to allow them into combat positions. And how do we know the fight to allow high functioning autistics / mild autistics / Asperger's syndrome sufferrers into the military won't be screwed up by unforeseen complications, extenuating circumstances, interference from either the government or the military who can prolong, stall or make the removal of the military enlistment ban on Asperger's syndrome / high functioning autism / mild autism impossible ? And how exactly should we remove the military service ban on Asperger's ?



AutisticAmerican24
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29 May 2013, 4:03 pm

Hello, fellow Asperger's. Who here thinks that we should make a case / sue the government so that we persuade them to lift the military enlistment ban on Asperger's syndrome ?



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30 May 2013, 6:38 pm

AutisticAmerican24 wrote:
But if I go and tell the recruiter / doctors that I don't have Asperger's, and he / she goes ahead and accesses / requests my medical records and sees that I have it, then I could be charged with fraudulent enlistment for lying about it.


Depends on the country, if you live in the US, medical is private and they have no way of knowing if you even have medical records. They'll have their own doctors physically examine you before they let you in (no getting physical disqualifiers past them), the mental part is all about answering the right questions (no hearing voices or wanting to kill yourself).

I'm not a huge fan of lying either, but I was desperate to get out of mom and dad's house and actually do something. I am definietly doing better in life because of the whole experience. I'd do it all over again if I had a second chance. If telling someone the truth just makes it easier for them to limit my opportunity in life, then I'll lie.

As far as the petitioning goes, I'll sign it if you show me the link.


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