# Are persons with disabilities allowed in the US military? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354 "2016-01-06T20:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/21 "2016-01-07T05:12:01Z")
After 9/11 I tried to enlist, but because I had back surgery and had screws and rods in my back I want accepted. I had no illusions of being a combat soldier, but I was a highly qualified telephone tech and the recruiter wanted me. But I was told it was a no go. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/22 "2016-01-07T05:22:50Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > Back during the Vietnam War there was a program called Project 100,000 where they let people enlist in all branches of the service who had physical and mental capabilities which normally would prevent their enlistment. The program ended in 1971 From what I read, the program was a failure as most were discharged before their enlistment and very few were allowed to reenlist. One exception were those how came in grossly overweight. The program was unofficially called “MacNamara’s 100,000”. It seemed a lot of inner-city Black and Hispanic guys were caught in that net. Oh, and many judges were offering enlistment as an alternative to jail to the wayward youths of that time. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/23 "2016-01-07T06:35:05Z")
The first African-American Navy diver, Carl Brashear continued diving even after having his leg amputated. (Also making him the first amputee to do so) That’s pretty bad-assed. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/24 "2016-01-07T07:23:16Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > A number of years ago, there was a local fooforaw about the family of some kid who objected to him being recruited into the army. I don’t remember exactly what the paper said, but he had some kind of mental problem that wasn’t immediately obvious. He was over 18, so the family had to appeal to the higher echelons of the service to get his enlistment canceled. The recruiters had no problem with him helping fill their quota. > > A while later, someone with a learning disability (and I’m virtually certain it was the same kid) came to work where I was working. His problem was that he wouldn’t pay much attention to whoever was showing him how to do a particular task, but would just jump to his own idea of how to do it. After that, if you tried to tell him to do it differently, he’d just get upset with you and run away. I expect he’d have lasted maybe 3 weeks in basic training. After posting the above, I realized I knew enough details that I could google the news reports. It turns out they were not the same people. The guy they tried to recruit was even less qualified for the military. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/25 "2016-01-07T07:38:08Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > After winning his Medal of Honor, but losing his right hand and forearm, [Leroy Petry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leroy_Petry#Return_to_service) stayed on active duty, deployed to Afghanistan, and then re-enlisted for another three years. Thats a pretty scary fake hand. Probably a terror to the enemy who probably thought he was some sort of half robot. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/27 "2016-01-07T10:20:13Z")
Reported spam This forum requires you to type more slowly… ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/28 "2016-01-07T10:34:24Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That’s more for officers, from what I understand. Nope; it’s for all ranks/rates. All of the services have what’s called “high year tenure” for every pay grade. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/29 "2016-01-07T13:23:07Z")
One of my company medics had a non-functioning eye, although he had to cheat the eye exam each year in order to stay in. Less simple to hide was the rear-detachment commander for our Corps, MG Miles, who lost a leg. I would sometimes run next to him on the treadmills in the base gym, and he could run for days on his prosthetic. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/30 "2016-01-07T13:29:12Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That’s more for officers, from what I understand. Every once in a while, the Army decides to tighten up on these restrictions for enlisted men in order to thin out the ranks, particularly during budget tightening. Post-Gulf War was particularly bad for this, from what I hear. Even so, a very good soldier who either doesn’t have the capabilities or the drive to rise in rank can stick around for 20 without going beyond E-5 as long as his superiors continue to find him to be an asset. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/31 "2016-01-07T13:29:33Z")
Anecdote: A friend of mine was training to be an Air Force pilot and, after an injury on a run, developed compartment syndrome in a leg. The leg was saved and he recovered, but he didn’t get away without a certain amount of permanent disability. He was given the option of reassignment or a medical discharge. He took the discharge because the only thing he wanted to do was fly planes, but they would have found a place for him elsewhere if he’d wanted it. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/32 "2016-01-07T14:35:40Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > He had a long career in the in the Air Force as a file clerk in New Hampshire and retired when his service was up. Again, did you ever see any proof of this? You mentioned he enlisted in the 70s so he would have retired in the 90s, which was during my enlistment. I don’t recall anyone retiring at “low ranks” during that time, which would have been a big deal, because retiring at “low ranks” isn’t possible. Also, there is no “file clerk” job in the Air Force. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/33 "2016-01-07T15:17:26Z")
Not sure how things were in the 70’s, but in the modern Army the rule is that the soldier must have a certain rank based on their years of service… Called a “Retention Control Point.” It is dubious that this person would make it all the way to 20 years without being at least an E6, unless the rules in the 90’s were radically different than they are today. The Army tried lowering the standards again in 2007ish if I recall correctly. It happens every time there is a major war and recruitment struggles. The Army allows X% of the force to be “waivered” in under certain conditions, and when they expand the recruiting pool they are basically just increasing the number of waivers granted. It always ends in disaster… I’m not sure why they try. Statistically, waivered recruits are discharged or prosecuted for crimes at a much higher rate than non-waivered. I have met two or three people in the Army that I believed were mentally handicapped. One guy was a signal intelligence collector. To say this kid had poor social skills was an understatement. His thoughts were disorganized and he had trouble expressing himself verbally. Looking back on it, I wonder if he was an undiagnosed spectrum kid. The problem is that the Army often doesn’t care about intangible personal qualities during the recruitment phase - All that matters is his ASVAB was good enough and the recruiter was two boots closer to making mission for that month. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/34 "2016-01-07T15:46:32Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Again, did you ever see any proof of this? You mentioned he enlisted in the 70s so he would have retired in the 90s, which was during my enlistment. I don’t recall anyone retiring at “low ranks” during that time, which would have been a big deal, because retiring at “low ranks” isn’t possible. > > Also, there is no “file clerk” job in the Air Force. I knew him while he was in it and before he retired. I don’t think he had a secret source of income and just liked to wear an Air Force uniform around. He was also in his early 50’s at the time so he had definitely been in for a long time. I will have to ask around to see what his specific rank and job were. That was the way it was summarized to me by his brothers. Even though I know him well, he isn’t very easy to communicate with verbally and is unable to carry on normal conversations so I never got many details from him except he was proud that he was finally able to earn a college degree of sorts through their continuing education programs. The whole thing is a bit of a mystery to me too. I always thought it was odd but now this question has me even more curious. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/35 "2016-01-07T16:23:46Z")
Shagnasty’s story is totally believable to me. I met several people with obvious mental handicaps in my 5 years in the Army. This is post-9/11, when perhaps the Army was desperate for recruits. None of them were vegetable level or anything, but they had clear mental disabilities. One MP I met obviously had Down’s syndrome. There were also one or two extremely obese soldiers I met, too. Knowing the standards (and not knowing the soldiers involved – these weren’t soldiers in my unit so I didn’t get to interrogate them), I’m not sure how this happened. But I have a guess. Recruiters are solely interested in numbers. They aren’t always so strict about making sure new recruits meet the standards. I recalled on this board before the woman in my basic training platoon who absolutely would not touch a firearm. Her recruiter knew this, and told her that as a veterinary tech or whatever her MOS was, she would never have to. That was a bold-faced lie. So anyway, I can imagine a few recruiters who thought they’d try their luck with some more advanced mentally handicapped people, and a few obese people, expecting that they would get a job with very few mental demands and their drill sergeants would whip them into shape. And once in basic, they worked their asses off with enthusiasm and the drill sergeants passed them. And then they got to their permanent unit, and impressed their commanders. It isn’t that hard to be a good soldier. These weren’t the most handicapped of handicapped people, they could speak and read and write. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/36 "2016-01-07T16:26:30Z")
Well, that’s the Army. They take anybody! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/37 "2016-01-07T16:36:34Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Again, did you ever see any proof of this? You mentioned he enlisted in the 70s so he would have retired in the 90s, which was during my enlistment. I don’t recall anyone retiring at “low ranks” during that time, which would have been a big deal, because retiring at “low ranks” isn’t possible. > > Also, there is no “file clerk” job in the Air Force. Depending on your definition of “low rank”, it was possible to retire as an E5 until September, 2013. [http://www.afpc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123314419](http://www.afpc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123314419) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/38 "2016-01-07T16:43:56Z")
On my submarine we had a few folks who were borderline normal intelligence (in my unqualified opinion), usually serving as cooks. They never passed the promotion tests, but if they were decent guys and put effort in, then generally they would be promoted by the Commanding Officer (whohas the power to promote them in certain circumstances) to E-5, and once at E-5, they might have a chance to finish a 20 year career. At some point the threshold may have changed to E-6 – I don’t know when. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/39 "2016-01-07T16:56:47Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > Depending on your definition of “low rank”, it was possible to retire as an E5 until September, 2013. > > [http://www.afpc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123314419](http://www.afpc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123314419) True, but nobody in the AF would refer to an E-5 as a member of the “low ranks” E-5 is the first in the NCO tier. “Low ranks” to me would be E-1 through E-3, but some may consider E-4 to be as well. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/40 "2016-01-07T18:40:35Z")
Civilians would, though. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354/41 "2016-01-07T22:41:54Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > Depending on your definition of “low rank”, it was possible to retire as an E5 until September, 2013. > > [http://www.afpc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123314419](http://www.afpc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123314419) They must have phased it in some. I have a neighbor who retired from the USAF as an E5/SSgt with 20 years in early 2015. He was in a band so it might have been a special duty thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-persons-with-disabilities-allowed-in-the-us-military/742354.md?page=3)