Should we let Bush send autistic kids to the front lines in Iraq if they enlist?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1146882329307730.xml&coll=7

An Army of one wrong recruit

Autism - The signing of a disabled Portland man despite warnings reflects problems nationally for military enlistment

Sunday, May 07, 2006 MICHELLE ROBERTS

Jared Guinther is 18. Tall and lanky, he will graduate from Marshall High School in June. Girls think he's cute, until they try to talk to him and he stammers or just stands there -- silent.

Diagnosed with autism at age 3, Jared is polite but won't talk to people unless they address him first. It's hard for him to make friends. He lives in his own private world.

Jared didn't know there was a war raging in Iraq until his parents told him last fall -- shortly after a military recruiter stopped him outside a Southeast Portland strip mall and complimented him on his black Converse All Stars.

"When Jared first started talking about joining the Army, I thought, 'Well, that isn't going to happen,' " said Paul Guinther, Jared's father. "I told my wife not to worry about it. They're not going to take anybody in the service who's autistic."

But they did. Last month, Jared came home with papers showing that he not only had enlisted, but also had signed up for the Army's most dangerous job: cavalry scout. He is scheduled to leave for basic training Aug. 16.

[porphyrian]

1. If he's 18, and his autism doesn't legally make him otherwise, he's a legal adult, not a kid.

If his autism does affect his maturity/decision-making, he shouldn't be considered an adult legally or his guardian(s) should have some way to get last say. If the system does not work this way, it should.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Hopefully he will wash out in basic

I don't think it is wise to send autistic people into a war zone. As I understand it, medical researchers believe that one of the factors that may make a person autistic is the inability for the liver to process toxins. Imagine what might happen to someone with a compromised liver going into a war zone with depleted uranium, etc.

[Karenina]

3. Don't worry. He's out.

Army Releases Autistic Teen
Parents Say Army Ignored Their Complaints Until Newspaper Article

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/12/national/main1613987.shtml

PORTLAND, Ore., May 12, 2006

A Quote

"Loud noises bothered him. He was scared to death of the toilet flushing, the lawn mower."
Brenda Guinther
Jared's mother


(CBS/AP) An 18-year-old Portland man with autism, whose recruitment renewed questions about Army practices, was released Tuesday from his enlistment contract.

Jared Guinther signed up for one of the Army's most dangerous jobs, cavalry scout, after being heavily recruited. He passed medical and other examinations. He was scheduled to leave for basic training in August.

The Army announced Tuesday that it decided he didn't meet enrollment criteria, two days after The Oregonian newspaper reported his parents' objections.

Gaylan Johnson, spokesman for the United States Military Entrance Processing Command, said Guinther's disability was not disclosed in the medical exam and information regarding his condition was not available to the command until after the enrollment process was complete. The command oversees medical exams for the Army.

Guinther's mother told The Oregonian she informed recruiters about her son's disability by telephone as Jared was being tested, but that he was accepted for enlistment anyway. Family and friends say anyone who reviewed the young man's medical or school records would know he was unfit for military service.

"Jared would play with buttons for hours on end," she told the Oregonian.