Aspergers and military service

Post Reply New Topic

How do people with Aspergers Syndrome generally cope in the military?
I have conscription in mind.

Which countries with conscription drafts people with Aspergers Syndrome? And what do they do, if they figure out that the military is a hell for the draftee?

I do know that Singapore draft everybody and do not care about people with psychological or any other mental health problems or differences. They are drafted, unless they are actually mentally ret*d, while Denmark excludes everybody with Aspergers Syndrome from the military (though I've heard of a few cases of aspies being allowed in the military, but this is against the rules).

What about Norway?
Sweden?
Finland?
Germany?
Greece?
Turkey?

No replies?

Once I was out of basic, it was fine for me. Although, I was in a computer field, so it wasn't really expected for everyone to get along together like a lot of other fields. I got recognized for my work on many occasions, so I'd say it was a good match for me.

Were you drafted?

No, enlisted because I didn't know what else to do with my 1.8 high school GPA.

My brother who lives in Greece (we are Greek but I live elsewhere) was drafted in the military service after he had completed his studies (MA in Architecture) and even though he did not know he had AS at the time, he didn't dislike the military. Maybe he was one of the lucky ones because he was given many 'unusual' tasks because of his education and IQ level...

Star

There was an Englishman from Yorkshire who was a possible Aspie who used to go to my clubhouse. He was in the British Army for three years, before he got injured. he faired quite well.

I was in the Norwegian Navy for 13 months. They only let me stay because I had nothing else to do, and they needed my skills in copying documents, because they were short of people. A person with an actual diagnosis of Aspergers would probably be rejected.

i have no idea, about american military but my brother tried joining and he takes some serious meds and they said he couldnt join because of it

As of a couple years ago, even if you had took ritalin in the past, you couldn't get in (to the US military anyways).

The ban on former Ritalin users seems to no longer be the case - my good friend J is ADD, was on Ritalin when he was young, and managed to get into the US Navy, then cross over to the Army when the Navy was about to RIF him for not making rank fast enough.

However, I think perhaps our experiences in the US military may not be applicable to the original question, as the poster did say he was asking specifically about conscription, and we haven't had that here since the '70s...

I'm thinking the poster is in the EU or Singapore, but he doesn't specify.

I know a guy that I was stationed with's mother is a ROK citizen, and by proxy, legally he has dual citizenship with ROK. He had orders to ROK, but he would be drafted in to their military regardless, so the US military cancelled his orders.

Which sucks for him because he hates it here haha.

I also joined before we invaded Iraq, but after September 11th, so I think they were just starting to ease down their requirements for entry... but maybe the ritalin thing is new for them? I know Air Force doesn't RIF people at E-4 until 20 years in... (or was that E-5...) Either way, it takes them a while to kick out people for not ranking up fast enough.

No offense to Army, but they do have the most lax entry requirements... they will waive a lot of felonies, etc.

It is not true that Singapore does not "care about people with psychological or any other mental health problems". People who are clearly autistic (Kanner's Type) will not be drafted. I made some noise about the prevalence of Asperger's Syndrome a year or so ago and that might have woken the military up to the fact that they are drafting large number of recruits who might be autistic. When I did a quick search a few months ago, the Psych Dept appears to have taken Asperger's Syndrome into consideration. Whether or nor an exemption will be given is probably determined on a case by case basis.

I served in the military. Initially they put me into Officer Cadet School in what is known as the "Scholar Company" - that is where the future leaders of Singapore are supposed to emerge from (I know, the social engineering is scary). Things did not quite work out and I was medically found unfit for combat duty. As a result, I spent the rest of my service as a clerk. Having experienced what officer training is like, I firmly believe that no one with Asperger's Syndrome should be required to go through it. The problem, as always, has to do with the recurrent melt down episodes. With the added pressures of camp life where one lives in close confinement with other soldiers, it can be impossible to find the space that Aspies need when we get "jammed up". And then one has to deal with loud noises like firing live ammunition or reacting to sudden events like a mock attack with flash grenades being used and so on. Even when Aspies are "normal", we are unlikely to perform to the needed standards for such mundane soldierly activities. But in the melt down phase, it is impossible to imagine an Aspie dealing with mortar fire or charging into simulated combat with blank ammunition. The loud, sudden noises did disorient me and put me in a position where I was in melt down mode practically all the time.

It was hell and I basically fell apart. Oddly enough, it was in the army that I first found out that might be autistic. The year was 1993 and nobody really knew what Asperger's Syndrome was. But the trainee psychiatrist thought that I might be autistic (I was put into this dysfunctional place called the Head Quarters Medical Corps and so there were a lot of doctors around). Unfortunately, as DSM IV was released only in 1990 and practically nothing was known of Asperger's Syndrome, there was nothing he could tell me and I spent the next 10 years trying to be normal. If it does not involve combat duties, Aspies can serve in the miilitary. However, I am quite certain that you do not want to be a paper pusher in the army.

But what about people who suffer from anxiety and OCD?

Try now! They're so desperate for people to join, they'll probably take anybody.



I've often thought if they did reinstitute a draft, I should try to get out of it. On a seperate issue, I'd have to think a war was justified before I'd be willing to fight. But just on a practical level, I'd be worried that in a tense situation I might start having horrible reactions like pacing and OCD stuff. I don't know. Plus I probably couldn't do it anyway because of the social stuff.