You all don't know the rest of the story. I work at the MEPS where the kid joined the Army and took his physical. He lied to 7 different people including the doctor. He filled out all his questionaires himself and made a decesion to conceal his medical history. They are asked over and over if they were coached to lie. So even if the recruiter knew and told him to lie, we catch about 95% of that stuff. He presented himself as a normal kid with no indication of a disability. Scored 43% out of 99% on the entrance test (If a million people took the test he would out score 429,000)
His recruiter had nothing to do with his processing at the MEPS except provide transportation. If he is as mentaly challenged as that BS article states he would have never had the capability to maintain his composure under repeated questioning as he did. Another attempt by the left to slam the organization that provides them the freedom to write half-truths.
Recruiters are not paid bonuses (except civilian recruiters)
Most recruiters are returning Combat veterans from Iraq
This kids original medical PRE-Screening was completed by the Marine Corps not the Army. Nothing was revealed on the paperwork signed by the Kid.
There is much more to this story that was not revealed because of the privacy act.
The reporter twisted the story because Portland OR is the one of the most liberal cities in the world. Too bad they don't realize that Freedom is not Free.
Firstly, Jared Guinther is a personal friend of mine and I can tell you that not a single thing his parents or The Oregonian said about him is true. He may have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, but it would be very difficult to notice just by speaking with him. He functions just as well, if not better, than any "normal" person. Besides, Asperger's Syndrome is not an automatic disqualifier for military service. It is only a disqualifier if the individual needs special accomodations or treatment to function normally. Jared can function normally on his own.
This is simply a case of his parents not wanting to let him go. He is an adult who is fully capable of making his own career decisions. However, his parents still insist on running every aspect of his life. When they could not talk him out of enlisting in the Army, they went to the Communist newspaper, slandered everyone they could with lies (including their own son), and did not give a damn about the effect it had on anyone.
CPL Ansley and SFC Velasco are distinguished veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the War on Terror. Both of them live the seven Army values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. They are of the highest caliber when it comes to character and ethics and they do not deserve to have their lives ruined by a bunch of Communist liberal extremists.
I did not deserve to have my career ruined either. I was just notified on 17 MAY 06 that I have been separated from the Army because there was a mention of conditions in my medical file that I didn't even know about. I was NEVER told about them, and they never would have been an issue if Jared's parents and the Communist media would have minded their own damn business.
My life-long dream was to serve my country as a scout attached to a Ranger Battalion and Jared and me both chose the same starting MOS of 19D (Cavalry Scout) in the hopes that we could serve together. Because of liberal Communist traitors, that dream is shattered and I may never be able to reconstruct the pieces.
Umm, perhaps it's a good thing that this correspondent WON'T get his hands on a sub-machinegun...
Alison
The thought had occured to me.
Take note that Drifter has just gone on to answer his own question in a classic short blog post:
What is Freedom?
Actually, I kinda liked the Army... Basic sucked, but then it's pretty much supposed to.
Bogie
DINFOS Trained Killer
Do a bleepin' search before you stereotype, okay?
Recruiters are not paid bonuses (except civilian recruiters)
Funny, as a veteran, I wasn't aware that there were civilian recruiters. Every time I've gone with a friend, or a friend's kid (doesn't hurt to have someone around to make sure the contract's right...), to see a recruiter they've been an actual service member.
www.machinegunshoot.com
Knob Creek's been on my to-do-before-I die list for years. I really should just get in the car and go this year...it's not like KY is that far a haul. I might even be able to catch up with some old accquaintances who almost certainly don't remember me.
In the right branch, and in the right MOS (or whatever they're calling it these days, an aspie would be in geek heaven. In fact, I suspect that more than a few are.
I always regretted not signing on when I was younger, even though the late eighties-early nineties probably weren't the best years to be looking for a military career (particularly after '92, if you know what I mean).
My contact with the military was largely limited to the marksmanship teams. In retrospect, I kinda have to wonder about them (some of those dudes were seriously focused).
I know that I had The Best darkroom equipment that I'd want, back in The Day (like, if you're keeping score, Leitz and Besseler).
Interested in a Beseler 45? I've got one mouldering in storage that I just don't know what to do with. 
Well, the army ought to know about his disability so they can make allowances for it. If they put him in a combat situation and he ends up melting down because of the gunfire, it's not going to be good for him or anybody else. But if he's got a special interest or skill they can use... well, why shouldn't he be allowed in if he wants to? Just make sure his environment is something he can handle. Like any disability.
BTW, the army isn't recruiting autistic kids. This guy volunteered. BIG difference.
(Why did they say "moderate to severe autism", though? He learned to speak before the age of six; he finished high school... how's that 'severe'? I'd say HFA in a heartbeat, with just that info to go on.)
Yes, if the guy could endanger himself or his fellow soldiers, the military would need to exclude him. Feel sorry if such a person cannot serve if they want to, but it goes back to Section 508 (accessible computer technology for people with disabilities) and certain military or intelligence-related exceptions. There comes a point when the armed forces will not waste resources on making something accessible for potential recruits which they do not intend to accept anyway. The 4-F category during the WW II draft existed for a reason. The military in our democratic country serves the civilian elected government, and recruits serve the military, if they can and to the extent they are allowed to.
I would feel bad for someone who wanted to sign up but could not.
And I am concerned about the desperate status of military recruitment. Especially any implications for social class, as when I was ready for college, if someone like me wanted to join, some parents including mine would say, "Why? College is not in question for you, just go there and leave the fighting and dying to [other people]."
Well, given that my dad wanted me to enlist and get lost after college, but I was able to tell him and remind him I was too heavy, maybe dad would have actually gone for that, and come to think of it, he did accept my brother's fling with Air Force ROTC, which he declined after a week of it.
I feel the same way about autistics in the military as I do about gays or women in the military--just because I don't agree with military policy, or this war, or this administration, doesn't mean I think discrimination is okay. I would never want to join the military. But if, for whatever reason, I did want to, I should not be excluded because I am autistic, I should not be limited because I am female, and, if I were gay, I should not be excluded for that either. The standard should be ability to do the job. If an autistic person can do the job, more power to him (or her). We should not condone discrimination just because we don't like the institution.
I wonder if dad, if he had lived to see September 11 2001, would have demanded my brother and I enlist.
He did not, and my brother and I have not.
You know, for the longest time I thought that being diagnosed with any mental illness or psychological abnormality disqualified a person from enlisting in the US Military. There was a time when I entertained the possibility of joining but I figured that because Ive been diagnosed with aspergers and I take 'psychotropic' medication that I would be unable to do so. So this story makes me think my assumption was flat wrong.......
Pertaining to myself, I can tell you that I would be a liability in combat. My vocal tics sound worse than a crying saddle. I'd alert the enemy to my, and my comrades at arm's presence. The only capacity I could possibly serve in would be non-combatant. But that's what WAC was set up for. So as a man with Tourette Syndrome, and perhaps Asperger as well, I do not feel duty bound to take part in the military. Especialy since I'm also physicaly unfit, and I oppose the war. And yeah, I'm also a "Communist liberal".
Pertaining to myself, I can tell you that I would be a liability in combat. My vocal tics sound worse than a crying saddle. I'd alert the enemy to my, and my comrades at arm's presence. The only capacity I could possibly serve in would be non-combatant. But that's what WAC was set up for. So as a man with Tourette Syndrome, and perhaps Asperger as well, I do not feel duty bound to take part in the military. Especialy since I'm also physicaly unfit, and I oppose the war. And yeah, I'm also a "Communist liberal".
Naw! they would use you as a fake bomb with your "Ticks" 
... IT would scare the pajeebies out of the enemy in hand to hand.... A lost grenade perhaps? LOL
Ha ha ha. Very funny.
Clever but not clever enough. If they recruit autistics or mentally disabled or mentally ill individuals in the army, that would be America killing two birds with one stone. They can't handle their responsibilities so lets just cut every corner and dump the whole lot in Iraq. And if they die, well thats tragic but they died for their country...
I can't go into how completely ****** up that is. They don't need more people in the army. Shouldn't we be getting troops OUT of Iraq?