No Aspies in the military?

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I am a good follower so military service would suit me well.

yeah I imagine that would help.

As a child I use to pretend to be a solider ha chasing my mom around the house with toy guns

As a veteran... I actually see the logic behind it. Most of us have special needs. Those needs do not fit within the regimented structure of the military machine. Deviation from that removes the "We are all the same" mentality that is needed to have a successful combat unit.

Our special needs would be viewed by the other soldiers as "special treatment" and that leads to problems.

The stricture against aspies is not just against aspies, but against all Pervasive Developmental Disorders and anyone with any condition that leads to instability and unpredictability.

I believe that it is the right choice.

Belive it or not but I used to want to be in the military, and was much more supportive of the government. My illusions were shattered though, but to each their own.

My personal belief is that the world could have been living in peace for thousands of years. But that offends the soldiers because if peace were the norm then that would make soldiers the moral equivalent of murderers.

Here we come back to the conversation about our nature... Humans are primates, and primates are violent. We are not far enough removed from out simian roots to be peaceful as a race.

it may not be so much violence but rather pride. for example the Vietnam war could have been ended sooner but that would have required our surrender and military pride does not accept surrender.

Just look around us at the world today... if we, as a species, did not have an immense and driving need for violence... we would already have peace

The problem is that we think that violence is a solution to our problems.

I disagree... most people do not think during, or leading up to violence... There is no thought in rage, and in combat, you are trained to the point where muscle memory takes over and you are often left trying to figure out what happened as your training killed the person, not your brain

When you get angry, you feel the need for violence, to strike out... The problem is that it is instinctual... the intelligent are able to over-ride their instincts... the less intelligent are not. The problem is that the average iq in the us is 98. To get an average, you have to take all the scores... there are a LOT of people smarter than that... and a WHOLE LOT of people much lower...

Once we, as a species can develop the self control and self awareness to overcome the instincts of our genes, we can get past it...

This^ I actually see some truth in it.

Yes, if those soldiers can get past their desires to kill all of the peaceniks.

I see the logic behind it too, but Aspies don't have to be unstable or unpredictable, and some aren't. The diagnostic criteria for AS is(taken from Wikipedia):

It is characterized by impairment in social interaction, by stereotyped and restricted patterns of behavior, activities and interests, and by no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or general delay in language. Impairments must be significant, and must affect important areas of function, and the diagnosis is excluded if criteria are also met for autism.


There isn't anything about meltdowns, sensory issues, or special needs in there. A narrow, but deep interest in a particular subject would not necessarily be an impairment in a military setting, and could even be a benefit. Although the criteria says that impairments must affect important areas of function, this could be limited to trouble talking and making friends with people.

So, although many or even most people with autism may not be suited to the military, a ban on all individuals with autism spectrum disorders from any position in the military is ignorant and discriminatory, in my opinion.

Ummm... this statement... if not intended to be, was VERY insulting... many soldiers want to defend the innocent... not kill peaceniks...

besides... look into it... and you will find that violent crimes are mostly committed be civilians

Yup and soldiers that commit war crimes.