Inclusion Daily Express -- Young Man With Autism Was Recruited For Dangerous Army Role

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Young Man With Autism Was Recruited For Dangerous Army Role
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
May 10, 2006

PORTLAND, OREGON--Jared Guinther will not be serving as a cavalry scout in the military, even though he signed up and was accepted into the U.S. Army last month.

The Oregonian reported that Army officials released Guinther on Tuesday after learning that the 18-year-old has autism and requires one-on-one tutoring to pass his high school classes.

Military regulations do not allow recruiters to sign up people with mental disabilities that might need school or employment accommodations.

Army officials are now investigating whether recruiters hid Guinther's disability in order to make him appear eligible for the combat role, which is considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the Army.

Guinther's family went to the media last week after learning that he had been recruited and was scheduled to appear for duty in August. They said the teenager could not have understood what he was getting into when he signed up.

"I'm super relieved," Jared's father, Paul Guinther, told the Oregonian after learning that his son's enlistment had been withdrawn. "We were so worried that they were going to send him to Iraq, and he wouldn't be able to defend himself."

U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon, reportedly wrote to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday calling for a full investigation into Guinther's case. He also asked for an inquiry into other claims of recruitment guidelines being abused, such as the case of an Ohio family who reported that their son was recruited even though he has a mental illness.

There have been a record number of complaints about recruiting abuses as the Army and Army Reserve are under pressure to meet recruiting goals.

Jared told the Oregonian he is disappointed, and that he feels the recruiters manipulated him.

"I'm sorry it turned out this way," he said, "but I will find an alternative."

Related:
"Recruiting Abuses Mount as Army Struggles to Meet Goals" (Newhouse News Service)
http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/roberts050806.html
"Autistic Army recruit won't serve" (The Oregonian)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/0510b.htm
Disabilities And The "War On Terror" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/war.htm

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