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mrwhite23
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04 May 2013, 7:51 am

hi i am a 21 year old male with Aspergers syndrome i live in australia
and am interested in one day joining the army
not for a career maybe a while though
this is something i want to do i am certain of it
what i was wondering is would having aspergers syndrome automatically disqualifie me from joining?/
this terrifies me
any adivce from anyone?



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04 May 2013, 8:02 am

These are the three things you should answer or get answers for:
1. What's the Australian armed forces policy on autism and Asperger's?
2. Are you on record anywhere as having Asperger's?
3. Do you think you can handle military training and military life in general with Asperger's?


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oceandrop
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04 May 2013, 10:33 am

I think somewhere between the small arms fire, explosions, and life-depending choices under intense pressure, a person with AS could easily become overstimulated and useless if not a dangerous liability to their squad.

Could be wrong though.



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04 May 2013, 12:11 pm

/\ Depends on the individual.
Go for a technical position and skip over that direct enemy contact stuff.


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Kuribo
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04 May 2013, 1:21 pm

An old friend of mine, diagnosed with AS, applied to join the RAF, and was told that he was ineligible because he was diagnosed, despite the fact that he is extremely intelligent, physically and mentally fit, and has great communication skills.

I think that some level of evaluation of people on the spectrum is necessary, given the potential problems that could occur, but a blanket policy is just totally unacceptable.



AutisticAmerican24
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06 Jun 2013, 8:49 pm

mrwhite23 wrote:
hi i am a 21 year old male with Aspergers syndrome i live in australia
and am interested in one day joining the army
not for a career maybe a while though
this is something i want to do i am certain of it
what i was wondering is would having aspergers syndrome automatically disqualifie me from joining?/
this terrifies me
any adivce from anyone?


Well, it depends on whether or not you take the interview seriously. If you don't conduct eye contact, if you don't keep discussions composed, don't converse accordingly and appropriately, well it's both obvious and apparent that you won't be taken seriously. Note: The same thing is if you try to enter the Australian Commandos, you must do everything right and using good judgment.

Here, take a look at this :

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_the_Austra ... me_to_join



vanhalenkurtz
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07 Jun 2013, 1:23 am

I was in the US navy about 18 months. I cannot emphasize enough the military is no place for someone with Asperger's. You will suffer.


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AutisticAmerican24
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07 Jun 2013, 2:05 am

That's crazy and absurd. Many people with Asperger's joined / enlisted, passed all of the physical / mental / psychological / moral examinations, did everything that their superior officers asked them to do, worked well with teammates / fellow soldiers, did their jobs well, completing their service times and being honorably discharged afterwards and they did fine in the military. Now whether or not you have any type of autism, we're not gonna do something or agree with someone's else views / beliefs simply because you didn't like it and that you felt uncomfortable with it and when we actually do certain things and don't expect us to regret the decisions that we've made because the truth is WE DON'T. And people with Asperger's think very logically and rationally, sometimes even wanting to know the reason why certain things are happening, what's the reason behind them or what's the logic behind them so there's no way for anyone, whether they have any type of mental or physical disorders or not to manipulate or dictate terms to them.



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07 Jun 2013, 9:11 am

vanhalenkurtz wrote:
I was in the US navy about 18 months. I cannot emphasize enough the military is no place for someone with Asperger's. You will suffer.

That is not necessarily true for everyone I don't think. I believe that if you do your research before choosing your job in the military, that it could be rewarding. The only problem is, after you have reached the higher ranks, you will be in charge of several troops and expected to lead from the front. I have been in the military for 14 years now and it was actually pretty fun up until I landed myself in upper management and am now in charge of 50 troops daily.

So, the military may be for people with AS, because many of us can remain calm in emergency type situations and react diligently. The main thing is to choose your job wisely and keep in mind what you might be doing 10- 15 years down the line. And if you can't see yourself in charge of many people, then plan on a shorter time in the military, and just have fun in the lower ranks doing the job you signed up for.

Hope this helps.


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electricronin
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26 May 2015, 7:51 am

I did not know what the military was really like till I was finally in it. I can tell you that being an aspie didn't help. if you have asd, you will have unforseen problems in the military due to the severe length of downtime and BS politics which made up a majority of a stateside experience. My problem was I didn't know I was an aspie. Ok, fine. A big problem.
Plus being robbed twice and asasulted by fellow soldiers made it easier to get out when I did. See, if you don't fit the stencil of what the military feels to be a soldier, then trust me, you don't fit, this was a candid confession to me by an army doc (major) as he recommended my chapter from the army for pre-existing medical which I would still have to release my medical records to my command in order to initiate the chapter (only under "honorable") since they still fall under HIPAA.

So I served for 2 yrs and 7 months from 2000 to 2002. I was diagnosed asperger's in 2009 at the age of 29. I can tell you from my experience never to do it. I excelled at some things (2 army achievement medals on my 1st field excersise to getting lost in the woods for 18 hrs(given vague directions). A lot of the guys in my unit were scumbags and if the unit you end with are even remotely sh***y, you're gonna have problems. Keep in mind that I wasn't diagnosed as a kid and had never even heard of asperger's syndrome up until that point. I imagine now that I would have been better off, since I'm aware of the things specific to my aspie and have a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. I took to pt very early on and came to my unit with airborne wings and a presidential fitness award (the 1st steps to a fast tracked or promoted path) but had a lot of problems with the downtime and there is a lot of f*****g downtime, stretches of time with no real goal that drive me nuts. not having a diagnosis really f****d me up. I had a lot of potential if only I was aware of asperger's, of course if i had been diagnosed b4 it would've been a double edged sword since I wouldnt be allowed to enlist and since they did extensive back round for my secret clearance. In the end I was able to get out on a chapter for preexisting medical and now have 60% service connection with the VA (dysthymia disorder and reflux) since the VA knew nothing about asperger's only ptsd and bipolar so i got my asd under the guise of dysthymia but that might have changed recently with the re-class and all. So the more you are aware of your own personal strengths and weaknesses I would normally say go for it And the less you know the more I would advise against it. I have asd and for the most part, I'm glad I served. If I had the chance to have had an early diagnosis over being allowed to serve, I would take the diagnosis, Believe THAT! It's cool, try mixed martial arts. Sure, getting paid to jump out of a plane is cool, but so is choking out anyone That fu*#s with you and the hand 2 hand they taught us in the army was a complete joke.

As a side note I was supposed to go on an assignment to Okinawa and got screwed out of it, then asked for Afghanistan which nobody from our unit was going to at the time(early to mid 2002).
When I couldn't get that I prompted my chapter. Basically saying if you don't send me to japan and, If you don't send me downrange then I'm going the hell home. Simple as that, and I got my 60. F/#k it. They never even heard of asperger's back in 2000 when I joined. Lol.



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26 May 2015, 8:12 am

vanhalenkurtz wrote:
I was in the US navy about 18 months. I cannot emphasize enough the military is no place for someone with Asperger's. You will suffer.
How very odd ... I was in the Navy for 6 years and made PO1 by the time I was Honorably discharged. Then I worked for the DOD for a few years before entering the transportation industry. The only things that bothered me were the political bullsnot, the yearly PRT, and the people who claimed I had cheated when I aced the advancement exams.

And this was before I had ever heard of Asperger's Syndrome.



electricronin
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26 May 2015, 8:30 am

Fnord wrote:
vanhalenkurtz wrote:
I was in the US navy about 18 months. I cannot emphasize enough the military is no place for someone with Asperger's. You will suffer.
How very odd ... I was in the Navy for 6 years and made PO1 by the time I was Honorably discharged. Then I worked for the DOD for a few years before entering the transportation industry. The only things that bothered me were the political bullsnot, the yearly PRT, and the people who claimed I had cheated when I aced the advancement exams.

And this was before I had ever heard of Asperger's Syndrome.


This was not my experience, not being aware of my autism hurt me a great deal. I was weird, sure, but I had to know why.



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26 May 2015, 8:36 am

Fnord wrote:
vanhalenkurtz wrote:
I was in the US navy about 18 months. I cannot emphasize enough the military is no place for someone with Asperger's. You will suffer.
How very odd ... I was in the Navy for 6 years and made PO1 by the time I was Honorably discharged. Then I worked for the DOD for a few years before entering the transportation industry. The only things that bothered me were the political bullsnot, the yearly PRT, and the people who claimed I had cheated when I aced the advancement exams.

And this was before I had ever heard of Asperger's Syndrome.


Hey Fnord,

I've always been curious, what was your job in the Navy?

I was an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force, and I found the flightline to be very Aspie-repellent.


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Fnord
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26 May 2015, 8:38 am

electricronin wrote:
Fnord wrote:
vanhalenkurtz wrote:
I was in the US navy about 18 months. I cannot emphasize enough the military is no place for someone with Asperger's. You will suffer.
How very odd ... I was in the Navy for 6 years and made PO1 by the time I was Honorably discharged. Then I worked for the DOD for a few years before entering the transportation industry. The only things that bothered me were the political bullsnot, the yearly PRT, and the people who claimed I had cheated when I aced the advancement exams. And this was before I had ever heard of Asperger's Syndrome.
This was not my experience, not being aware of my autism hurt me a great deal. I was weird, sure, but I had to know why.
As far as I'm concerned, the Navy was a nearly perfect working environment than any other I've had.

Socially, it sucked. Politically, it sucked worse.

But all I had to do to get ahead was be where I was supposed to be, when I was supposed to be there, and doing what I was supposed to be doing. Salute all officers and flags not encased, walk my post in a military manner ... Et cetera (the general orders were a tremendously helpful guide). I also studied hard when everyone else was out getting drunk, and focussed on the next advancement exam to the exclusion of video games, drinking, whoring, and all of the other recreational activities common to sailors in port.

It worked for me; but then, I did not join the Navy to make friends or get laid.