USA_All_The_Way
5-Year Member
- Joined
- May 11, 2010
- Messages
- 26
Alright, it is time to finally slay the beast.
I've decided it is best to be upfront about this whole thing straight from the get-go. My official diagnosis is Aspergers, and depending on who you talk too these days, it's either a mere socialization disorder or a minor-degree variant of high-functioning autism.
Back in late 2008 during the middle of my senior year in high school I had set up a MEPS appointment with a recruiter for the Air Force. We went through the preliminary questioning session before I was sent off to the local downtown MEPS station here in Denver, CO. Eventually, and to no surprise, she made her way to the hard-hitting question I don't particularly enjoy answering: "Do you have any mental disorders or have or are you on any prescribed medications for ADD?" I ended up telling her what I happened to be diagnosed with. Her advice seems to run a common current with most recruiters: Don't mention a thing to the people at MEPS.
The problem with these kind of things is that you hear people from two different sides saying you need to lie about it or not disclose anything or you should tell the truth and if you don't you'll go to federal prison.
Well, eventually the whole concept of me being locked in federal prison for five years with a $10,000 bail (or higher), plus a felony charge put on my permanent criminal record was not worth me saying "no" when in fact there has been a past of medical ins and outs (I'll explain later for clarity purposes). Right about after the infamous Duck Walk, I broke down and when asked if I had ADD, I confirmed this to be true. Apparently because the Duck Walk portion of the physical did not go executed as smoothly as it should have with myself, the doctors observing me put me down for abnormal psychological behavior. This is a mess I'm almost positive I won't be able to get out of with MEPS (at least it is a hope of mine that it applies to at least MEPS).
As I have made known in previous postings, I just completed my first year as an AROTC cadet. Initially, as I had informed my AF recruiter, I had the intention of joining ROTC simply because I have been heavily advised by many current and former military people to go the officer route as opposed to enlisting, and this is perhaps why I flushed out of MEPS altogether. There were obvious reasons for joining ROTC first off and it is not rocket science that ROTC gives you a taste for what its actually like even if its not entirely official and unless you are contracted (which I'm obviously not) you don't get paid anything. I've always known that you can enlist and then join ROTC, but at the end of the day there are two things to consider: 1) Someone decides whether or not you actually get in based on how you do enlisted and 2) You cannot get out if you discover that you are not suited for life as a combatant. Obviously everyone here knows these things, and I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence, but I am making them apparent to establish my own understanding of the circumstances as I have perceived them and based on my own research. Family tensions and conflicts convinced me that I should just enlist and then worry about ROTC later, but eventually putting aside those two factors did not last through the entirety of MEPS, and regardless of how good they are at finding out about your history, I was not willing to compromise my integrity and ruin my life forever when it has barely even started as an adult.
Based on advice that was given to me fairly recently (see below) an Army recruiter at my college decided to talk with me about the MEPS issues. Upon a lookup of my files, it reads that I've been "permanently disqualified" from joining the Air Force. While I would much rather join the Air Force over all of the other branches now as I had wanted too prior to joining AROTC, I would be willing to settle for the Navy and the Coast Guard (and maybe even perhaps with a prick of the finger, the Army too...). I have a feeling a PDQ pretty much translates to game over for me regarding the AF, possibly the military altogether, but I have heard there have been exceptions even to things such as these (and, within the confines of reasonability, I would say that I should be considered for an exception, not that I necessarily am one).
Let me provide a little contextual background before getting off on any tangents. I received my diagnosis around the age of seven or eight, and throughout public schooling up until the sophomore year in high school at the age of 16 I was required to be supervised by teacher aids and "specialized" classes (no guesswork here of course if you're crafty, it's otherwise commonly referred to as "special education" coursework). I have an extensive history of medications which have lapsed in between the years but only within short durations of time (nothing beyond a 3 year period). My supervision was also in and out depending on certain grade levels and depending on which school I had been attending at the time (I have transferred to perhaps a dozen or more schools throughout my public education, and while I would begin to gain more autonomy with one school, transferring often set me back a ways to starting from scratch again). I understand that the qualification standards for any branch quite explicitly states that you must be off medication before or at the age of 12 (the same is true, if I am not mistaken, for having supervision in a classroom environment), so I am not going to be a fool here and expect that a waiver won't be necessary in my case if I have a chance at making it.
Me saying this here on a message board doesn't prove a single thing, but as I am standing right now, I am perfectly fine and nearly problem-free (well, not with life in general, if I was I'd go out and write books and get rich
). Here are a list of things which speak in my favor which are both related to ROTC and in general, college academics. I can prove all of these to be true:
I think that pretty much covers everything I can say both in light of the reality of my situation and what I have to use in my defense. I don't hear voices in my head and I'm not convinced that a ghost is going to come into my bed sheets and rape me. But even if this is true, (which, if you're going to take my word for it, it is) I would be expecting that I am going to need to get a second opinion here from a somewhat objective source. This is what the Army recruiter said, in no uncertain terms, is needed for the MEPS (and I imagine DoDMERB as well, if not especially) to have a second go with me.
And of course, without getting too obvious or wishy washy here, I am deeply interested in serving my country and making a difference. At this point in time, what reasonable person wouldn't want to keep the body parts of al-Qaeda members as their own personal collectibles?
I've decided it is best to be upfront about this whole thing straight from the get-go. My official diagnosis is Aspergers, and depending on who you talk too these days, it's either a mere socialization disorder or a minor-degree variant of high-functioning autism.
Back in late 2008 during the middle of my senior year in high school I had set up a MEPS appointment with a recruiter for the Air Force. We went through the preliminary questioning session before I was sent off to the local downtown MEPS station here in Denver, CO. Eventually, and to no surprise, she made her way to the hard-hitting question I don't particularly enjoy answering: "Do you have any mental disorders or have or are you on any prescribed medications for ADD?" I ended up telling her what I happened to be diagnosed with. Her advice seems to run a common current with most recruiters: Don't mention a thing to the people at MEPS.
The problem with these kind of things is that you hear people from two different sides saying you need to lie about it or not disclose anything or you should tell the truth and if you don't you'll go to federal prison.
Well, eventually the whole concept of me being locked in federal prison for five years with a $10,000 bail (or higher), plus a felony charge put on my permanent criminal record was not worth me saying "no" when in fact there has been a past of medical ins and outs (I'll explain later for clarity purposes). Right about after the infamous Duck Walk, I broke down and when asked if I had ADD, I confirmed this to be true. Apparently because the Duck Walk portion of the physical did not go executed as smoothly as it should have with myself, the doctors observing me put me down for abnormal psychological behavior. This is a mess I'm almost positive I won't be able to get out of with MEPS (at least it is a hope of mine that it applies to at least MEPS).
As I have made known in previous postings, I just completed my first year as an AROTC cadet. Initially, as I had informed my AF recruiter, I had the intention of joining ROTC simply because I have been heavily advised by many current and former military people to go the officer route as opposed to enlisting, and this is perhaps why I flushed out of MEPS altogether. There were obvious reasons for joining ROTC first off and it is not rocket science that ROTC gives you a taste for what its actually like even if its not entirely official and unless you are contracted (which I'm obviously not) you don't get paid anything. I've always known that you can enlist and then join ROTC, but at the end of the day there are two things to consider: 1) Someone decides whether or not you actually get in based on how you do enlisted and 2) You cannot get out if you discover that you are not suited for life as a combatant. Obviously everyone here knows these things, and I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence, but I am making them apparent to establish my own understanding of the circumstances as I have perceived them and based on my own research. Family tensions and conflicts convinced me that I should just enlist and then worry about ROTC later, but eventually putting aside those two factors did not last through the entirety of MEPS, and regardless of how good they are at finding out about your history, I was not willing to compromise my integrity and ruin my life forever when it has barely even started as an adult.
Based on advice that was given to me fairly recently (see below) an Army recruiter at my college decided to talk with me about the MEPS issues. Upon a lookup of my files, it reads that I've been "permanently disqualified" from joining the Air Force. While I would much rather join the Air Force over all of the other branches now as I had wanted too prior to joining AROTC, I would be willing to settle for the Navy and the Coast Guard (and maybe even perhaps with a prick of the finger, the Army too...). I have a feeling a PDQ pretty much translates to game over for me regarding the AF, possibly the military altogether, but I have heard there have been exceptions even to things such as these (and, within the confines of reasonability, I would say that I should be considered for an exception, not that I necessarily am one).
Let me provide a little contextual background before getting off on any tangents. I received my diagnosis around the age of seven or eight, and throughout public schooling up until the sophomore year in high school at the age of 16 I was required to be supervised by teacher aids and "specialized" classes (no guesswork here of course if you're crafty, it's otherwise commonly referred to as "special education" coursework). I have an extensive history of medications which have lapsed in between the years but only within short durations of time (nothing beyond a 3 year period). My supervision was also in and out depending on certain grade levels and depending on which school I had been attending at the time (I have transferred to perhaps a dozen or more schools throughout my public education, and while I would begin to gain more autonomy with one school, transferring often set me back a ways to starting from scratch again). I understand that the qualification standards for any branch quite explicitly states that you must be off medication before or at the age of 12 (the same is true, if I am not mistaken, for having supervision in a classroom environment), so I am not going to be a fool here and expect that a waiver won't be necessary in my case if I have a chance at making it.
Me saying this here on a message board doesn't prove a single thing, but as I am standing right now, I am perfectly fine and nearly problem-free (well, not with life in general, if I was I'd go out and write books and get rich
). Here are a list of things which speak in my favor which are both related to ROTC and in general, college academics. I can prove all of these to be true:- As of 2010, I have been medication-free for five years and counting.
- My cumulative GPA for my first year in college is an approximate 3.2-3.3. Also keep in mind I have been aiming for an honors GPA, so I'm not entirely satisfied with what I have now. I am not on any disability compensation and can satisfactorily complete college coursework without any student aide or in-classroom assistance.
- I am currently running as a presidential candidate for the Philosophy Club at my college. It is also likely I will be getting the position for the Fall semester because my competition sort of lacks (without getting demeaning here) the composure and regimentation of a leader/club representative, and this, I can say with certainty, is what people notice.
- Currently, I am relocating to a residence closer to my school and will be handling almost all of my primary expenses (utilities, groceries, furniture) on my own.
- This summer I plan on working two part-time jobs over the summer and possibly averaging 30-35 hours per week.
- In a discussion I had with my MS1 instructor about family issues (and accordingly, nothing to do with finances or even the military), he had recommended that I go in for a slot with the National Guard or the Reserves (in particular, he personally noted I possessed the disciplinary characteristics to go through enlistment, as he has been in the Army for 15 plus years and started his career as a private and is now currently at the rank of Captain).
- Something else I believe bears some significance to my medically unrelated qualifications kind of goes back to my academic ranking. This previous semester I had earned an "A" in my ethics class and I am on good terms with the professor, who was also willing to have me use him as a reference for this summer's job applications.
- Lastly, my employment history begins at the age of 17 when, as stated before, I have been off meds since the age of 15. While not the best employee (I have, after all, only had part-time experience) I have never been fired from a job and my previous work lasted for an entire year straight through.
I think that pretty much covers everything I can say both in light of the reality of my situation and what I have to use in my defense. I don't hear voices in my head and I'm not convinced that a ghost is going to come into my bed sheets and rape me. But even if this is true, (which, if you're going to take my word for it, it is) I would be expecting that I am going to need to get a second opinion here from a somewhat objective source. This is what the Army recruiter said, in no uncertain terms, is needed for the MEPS (and I imagine DoDMERB as well, if not especially) to have a second go with me.
And of course, without getting too obvious or wishy washy here, I am deeply interested in serving my country and making a difference. At this point in time, what reasonable person wouldn't want to keep the body parts of al-Qaeda members as their own personal collectibles?
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