10 Oct 2017, 4:59 pm
Ferrari fan
What is the correct method of determining g whether someone should join the military 
What is your military occupational specialty?
How does autism affect your military service?
Thank you very much
11 Oct 2017, 2:15 pm
What is the correct method of determining g whether someone should join the military
What is your military occupational specialty?
How does autism affect your military service?
Thank you very much
Hello,
In my estimation and experience the determination of whether someone should join or not depends on their level of functionality in the NT world. I don't think you can put a specific value or measurement on it because we are all different - each of us has to decide the risk/reward ratio and whether it makes sense to try it or not. Simply put, some people can cut it and others cannot. The same, however, could be said of NTs. If someone wants to do it, then don't allow Aspergers to stop you.
I am in the military as a 42 series in the Army.
I think that my Aspergers has made some things difficult, but has helped me to put order into things. I generally know my schedule, whats expected of me, where I need to be, and so on. I think those are usually good and work to my advantage. The disadvantage is that I don't consider myself to be a great leader. I have had to force myself to be a leader, particularly when in a deployed or otherwise stressful situation. I am not completely comfortable fitting into the military perspective on leadership in spite of having studied the topic in-depth for years. When I have needed help with certain situations I have found that the resources to help me cope are there - whether that's a chaplain or behavioral health or just someone who is my senior that I can talk to for advice.
Does this help?
FF
12 Oct 2017, 1:37 pm
Ferrari fan
Yes it helps. Thank you very much.
From the time I was 18 til now (34) I have been preoccupied with the military.
But MEPS disqualification:
Prozac, Ativan, clinical depression diagnosed
Obsessive compulsive disorder diagnosed
Irritable bowel syndrome diagnosed
Trump transgender ban (2017)
Autism
Over six months of counseling
And those are just the disqualification that I know about. 
thus far
But whatever
Sooner or later I have to come to terms with 
the fact that I will never 
enlist 
be a civil engineer 
have precious lil "friends", be NT, be a cisgender man get breast reduction surgery
gratitude
Acceptance
Tolerance
And I will never be "normal" in a good way......
But whatever
Besides the military reclassifies service members to MOS that the military needs.
So someone could be a Human Resources Specialist and get reclassified as a Food Service Specialist
And that does not violate the contract
Whatever anyways I am glad that I did not join the military when I was eligible.
However I profoundly regret going to UCSD because it was homophobic
But whatever
Seriously I get the impression that I would get more respect if I was in the military
But you can't measure respect
And getting respect is not a good idea to join the military
And the drill sergeant and commanding officer has a lot more authority than civilian bosses
And I am not psychic so I do not know what will or would have happened
Besides if I joined the military, someone could rape me. Autistics are especially vulnerable to hazing, "blanket party", bullying.
And then the military could send me to the brig. Non judicial punishment
In the Navy they gave a "bread and water" punishment
And I would be crying
And get dishonorable discharge
And go Absent with out leave
And get court martialed
Joining the military was just a 
Pipedream 
12 Oct 2017, 2:57 pm
Yes it helps. Thank you very much.
From the time I was 18 til now (34) I have been preoccupied with the military.
But MEPS disqualification:
Prozac, Ativan, clinical depression diagnosed
Obsessive compulsive disorder diagnosed
Irritable bowel syndrome diagnosed
Trump transgender ban (2017)
Autism
Over six months of counseling
And those are just the disqualification that I know about.
thus farBut whatever
Sooner or later I have to come to terms with
the fact that I will never enlist be a civil engineer have precious lil "friends", be NT, be a cisgender man get breast reduction surgery gratitudeAcceptance
Tolerance
And I will never be "normal" in a good way......
But whatever
Besides the military reclassifies service members to MOS that the military needs.
So someone could be a Human Resources Specialist and get reclassified as a Food Service Specialist
And that does not violate the contract
Whatever anyways I am glad that I did not join the military when I was eligible.
However I profoundly regret going to UCSD because it was homophobic
But whatever
Seriously I get the impression that I would get more respect if I was in the military
But you can't measure respect
And getting respect is not a good idea to join the military
And the drill sergeant and commanding officer has a lot more authority than civilian bosses
And I am not psychic so I do not know what will or would have happened
Besides if I joined the military, someone could rape me. Autistics are especially vulnerable to hazing, "blanket party", bullying.
And then the military could send me to the brig. Non judicial punishment
In the Navy they gave a "bread and water" punishment
And I would be crying
And get dishonorable discharge
And go Absent with out leave
And get court martialed
Joining the military was just a
Pipedream While I cannot speak to your medical disqualifications I do believe that you overstate the possibility of rape, hazing, or bullying. While this was not uncommon years ago, the rules have changed and it doesn't happen like it used to. As well, it is a crime and punishable by the UCMJ which is indeed different than the normal court system. I also think that you overestimate the possibility of reclassification. While it does happen, I have never seen it happen. This is what I have come to learn is catastrophizing - the Army has helped me to recognize where we take one small possibility and use it as an absolute. That is not to say that its not recognized as a concern, but its very unlikely. As Aspies we do tend to do this a lot because of our thought processes.
Those punishments you listed are way out of date and illegal these days.
Respect in the military is definitely earned - it does not entitle you to respect in any way from the civilian world. There are people who are both extremes in showing lots of respect when you are in uniform, and then there are those who are actually quite verbal in their abuse of military personnel.
While your medical conditions may be disqualifiers never think of your dreams as pipedreams. I have accomplished a LOT of my own dreams through my life in the military.
I sent you a PM yesterday. I may be out of touch for a few days, but hope to be back soon. I actually have some personal questions I would like to ask you if I may.
FF
14 Oct 2017, 2:00 pm
Ferrari fan
Thank you very much for responding.
Anyways..... It is difficult to quantify the probability of rape, because some rapes go unreported.
If someone raped me, then the likelihood of getting raped, statistically would not matter to me
Anyways I am autistic and transgender. The chances of getting raped might be higher for me than for cisgender women....
Sometimes defendants get wrongfully convicted.
Sometimes guilty defendants get the "not guilty" verdict
But, conviction or not, that does not benefit the victim
Anyways whatever
Plenty of people do not get the jobs that they fantasized about when they were children.
Plenty of people do not even get an opportunity to go to undergraduate college
So whatever
Maybe I am just ungrateful. I live in the united States. I am 34 years old. Health decent. Never been homeless or. Hungry.
So what is a little homophobia and social rejection?
Ichinin
Veteran
Joined: 3 Apr 2009
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,653
Location: A cold place with lots of blondes.
15 Oct 2017, 2:18 pm
15 Oct 2017, 4:25 pm
Ichinin
Veteran
Joined: 3 Apr 2009
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,653
Location: A cold place with lots of blondes.
15 Oct 2017, 9:16 pm
17 Oct 2017, 1:54 pm
Thank you very much for responding.
Anyways..... It is difficult to quantify the probability of rape, because some rapes go unreported.
If someone raped me, then the likelihood of getting raped, statistically would not matter to me
Anyways I am autistic and transgender. The chances of getting raped might be higher for me than for cisgender women....
Sometimes defendants get wrongfully convicted.
Sometimes guilty defendants get the "not guilty" verdict
But, conviction or not, that does not benefit the victim
Anyways whatever
Plenty of people do not get the jobs that they fantasized about when they were children.
Plenty of people do not even get an opportunity to go to undergraduate college
So whatever
Maybe I am just ungrateful. I live in the united States. I am 34 years old. Health decent. Never been homeless or. Hungry.
So what is a little homophobia and social rejection?
While I understand your concerns it does strike me that you are following a bit of misdirected logic in your post. You are definitely "catastrophizing" an event that, while possible, is highly unlikely.
We all face certain fears in our lives, but when we let them rule our decisions then they control us. Its like the people who are afraid to cross the street for fear they might get run over by a car - yes, its possible, but unlikely - or those who refuse to be near a hospital for fear that they might get sick. The fact is that you can get sick and not be anywhere near a hospital.
Just a little food for thought!
FF
18 Oct 2017, 8:13 pm
claim that they are worried that one on the spectrum would not be able to hold their rifles as they are required to carry them all the time.Do I think we should be accepted? Yes, because the military has lots of tech-related and mechanic type jobs that one on the spectrum could do career-wise. Would you ship them to war? Only if their symptoms are so mild. Otherwise, you have
1. Security
2. Satellites
3. Computer programming
4. Engineering
5. Mechanics
6. They could even go to school to advance their career opportunities
7. Travel
The Military also provides structure
I wonder how it is in America in this respect, can not you just hide that you are autistic
but i did know you law, maybe it's Illegal? And i did not I do not approve of breaking the law
just wonder For exemple in Poland until 2009 we had conscription and most people do what they could to avoid military service altogether, even showing forged medical records that make them unable to serve.
but rarely someone lied in the other direction to get to the Polish Army
But i know someone who not disclosed fact that have history of substance abuse, alcohol to be specific, was on rehab for that, than they somehow found and only punishment he gat was forfeit portion of salary for few month and reprimand in permanent record, but was nor demoted nor kicked out from Polish Army, i also know at lest few Polish aspies who serve in Polish Army, and not tell anything do doctors.
Because our Polish Army has terrible shortages of personnel, we have better military equipment, but fewer and fewer people are willing to serve in the military, and deteriorating Polish-Russian relations are still deepening the problem, so our army rarely relieves anyone even from the service even if that person wasn't quite honest at recruitment, if so it usually end in reprimand and forfeit of salary.
Our army does not want to lose personnel in particular officers, after all who would reimburse costs that our Polish government already paid from Polish taxpayer money?
As for Aspies in army, why the heck we could serve our respective countries, if they had not any other serious health problem aside autism? Aspies serve already in Israeli army
18 Oct 2017, 8:51 pm
pawelk
some articles claim that in the united states, lying at MEPS is "fraudulent enlistment". it is illegal. and subject to 2 years in the brig. (jail). and forfeiture of all pay, get a fine. and dishonorable discharge.
but i am just a civilian.
how often that occurs, ain't got no clue.
anyways, whatever....
the military does waivers. but waivers are not guaranteed. and waivers take a long time.
18 Oct 2017, 9:40 pm
some articles claim that in the united states, lying at MEPS is "fraudulent enlistment". it is illegal. and subject to 2 years in the brig. (jail). and forfeiture of all pay, get a fine. and dishonorable discharge.
but i am just a civilian.
how often that occurs, ain't got no clue.
anyways, whatever....
the military does waivers. but waivers are not guaranteed. and waivers take a long time.
So is true for American Armed Force, but does such solider would discharged, demoted, jailed?
I know that in my country it would be just reprimand and some salary lose, due the fact my country have terrible problem with our shortage in staffing, but such person military career is basically ruined, because they for 90% never get any further promotion and be looked down by their superior
19 Oct 2017, 10:22 am
some articles claim that in the united states, lying at MEPS is "fraudulent enlistment". it is illegal. and subject to 2 years in the brig. (jail). and forfeiture of all pay, get a fine. and dishonorable discharge.
but i am just a civilian.
how often that occurs, ain't got no clue.
anyways, whatever....
the military does waivers. but waivers are not guaranteed. and waivers take a long time.
The burden of proof is generally on the recruiters - they have to do an extensive background check and you go through a medical screening at MEPS prior to being sent to basic. Waivers are generally granted on a case by case basis depending on mission and big Army requirements. Again, it is not something that I would be terribly concerned with in the grand scheme of things. I have never in my 20 years heard of someone who was prosecuted for fraudulent enlistment. If someone comes in and it is later found they are somehow unfit or fail to adapt to Army life they are discharged. Again, no big deal.
FF
20 Oct 2017, 9:28 pm
Ichinin
Veteran
Joined: 3 Apr 2009
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,653
Location: A cold place with lots of blondes.
21 Oct 2017, 2:58 am
