by Dr. Katy Davis, Lt. Col. Erik Davis, and Lt. Col. Nick Frazier.
While the US Army hit its recruiting goal for 2024, the target is much lower than previous years, and following a deficit of 25,000 recruits from the previous two years One principal challenge is the shrinking pool of potential recruits. Estimates suggest only 23%-29% of Americans can even meet the current requirements, and the trend is continuing downward. While no service wants to lower the standards to meet their goals, such a dire outlook demands we relook at which barriers to entry are truly justified. The military’s misinformed restrictions, which automatically ban neurodivergent recruits, should be the first to go.
When neurodiversity is embraced, the strengths and talents that come with differently wired brains can be tapped as assets. This should not come at the expense of unit cohesion and military discipline, but as the tools of warfare shift, the military needs to capitalize on neurodivergent people.
Our Paths to ARSOF
Erik: I didn’t end up in Special Forces because I was a badass. There’s this idea that the only people who need even apply to be a Green Beret are the 6’ tall desert warriors who chew steel and are the strongest, fittest, fastest members of their units. I’m sure we have a few people in the Regiment who live up to that meme, but I’m not one.
One of the main reasons I ended up in SOF was because I wasn’t fitting in well in the regular Army. Early on as a newly minted lieutenant, one of my NCOs pulled me aside and pointed out the frictions I was having with life in the infantry. Among them was my incessant need to ask questions and a habit of finding different ways to accomplish tasks. He asked me if I’d ever thought about trying out for Special Forces. Maybe you’ll fit in over there.
Just over a year later, I was on the side of a wide red clay road at Camp Mackall, trying to listen in on a conversation between two instructors. I’d just tanked a situational exercise at Special Forces Assessment and Selection, and was crushed to think all my success in land navigation the day before was undone in just twenty minutes of failing at a conversation in the woods. But then I overheard the greatest compliment I ever got in my Army career, “He’s trainable.”
Nick: The Army did not click with me until I got the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC). The 18-month course provides a framework to not just survive, but thrive, in vague, ambiguous, gnarly problems, and I found it exhilarating. Every other Army school teaches a formulaic approach that works for most people. They “break it down Barney-style”. However, I struggled to pay attention to even short blocks of instruction. In Army Basic Combat Training, it was a source of embarrassment that I could not recall the steps to put a SINCGARS radio into action right after the block of instruction.
Yet, in SFQC, the instructors taught doctrine and mental models but were not dogmatic in their approach. Success was measured in outcomes, not by following a checklist of actions. I finally found my people.
What Is Neurodivergence?
Before we dive into the positive aspects of neurodivergence, we need to cover some vocabulary. Consider the following. Would you ask a friend whose husband is in the Air Force how her soldier is doing? Is a 6-week long trip to DC for “training” or a “deployment”? Ever try calling a service-member’s uniform an “outfit”? The visceral reaction you had to these is why language is important.
The word “normal” has been used to describe those who have an acceptable way of perceiving and moving through the world around them. But “normal” can shift widely from generation to generation, year to year, or even day to day as it applies to what is acceptable to society at large. When talking about how people learn and think, the term “neurotypical” is more appropriate: someone whose way of thinking, learning, and interacting with others is in line with the (albeit slim) majority.
The “neurodiversity” movement recognizes and supports ways of thinking, learning, and socializing that falls outside neurotypical. IQ measurements, learning differences, behavior, executive functioning, and social language are all encompassed within neurodiversity. While neurodivergence was originally tied most often to autism, it now serves as an umbrella term that includes ADHD, dyslexia, those with specific learning disabilities, and even bipolar disorder.
Covering every neurotype within the neurodiversity umbrella is beyond the scope of this article, so we’ll focus on three that are most likely to be turned away by the military when they should be recruited as assets.
Autism Spectrum
This neurodevelopmental disorder is typically characterized by patterns in repetitive behavior in children and social-communication deficits. It is also associated with cognitive strengths including heightened attention to detail, enhanced sensory processing, strong systemizing abilities, and deliberate decision-making. Recent studies have found correlations between autism and measures of mental ability. Autistic adults often exhibit exceptional attention to detail, which may stem from sensory hypersensitivity. This heightened attention enables them to excel in pattern recognition in mechanical, tactile, and visual realms, a key aspect of systemizing.
Decision-making abilities in autistic adults are more deliberate and less prone to intuitive biases. Studies suggest individuals with autism tend to approach decision-making in a more rational, calculated manner, reducing emotional or irrational factors. Rational, calculated decision-making based on fact-finding and data is a quality highly desired in leaders in any line of work, particularly for officers in the military.
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
ADHD is characterized by difficulty maintaining attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It typically emerges in childhood and continues into adulthood. Courage, dynamism, resilience, humanity, transcendence, and energy all sound like things you would look for in a recruit–these traits also describe the positive aspects of an ADHD adult.
Jaska posits the military is doing itself a disservice when it chooses to screen out ADHD. “Military service is often an excellent option for people with ADHD, many of whom do well in highly structured environments and thrive on activity.” Service members need to maintain peak physical fitness and remain calm under pressure. ADHD adults who require constant movement and physical stimulation may be well-suited for this demanding work, as it involves frequent shifts in activity and requires quick adaptability. Those in Special Operations Forces (SOF) often deploy to foreign countries with little notice and work with local forces for unknown durations, a lifestyle that requires divergent thinking and adaptability, traits common among those with ADHD.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is typically regarded as a challenge in reading. However, research has shown that dyslexic individuals tend to have stronger visual processing skills which aid in detecting visual anomalies. They seethings others overlook. Dyslexics tend to have a broader field of visual and auditory attention which is beneficial in spotting unusual patterns or identifying discrepancies. As typical readers develop the skills necessary for reading, they may lose some abilities to process visual information holistically. People with dyslexia, however, retain these visual strengths, making them adept at tasks requiring wide-ranging attention.
Strong visual processing skills can be particularly advantageous in fields where attention to anomalies is key, such as security . Dyslexic individuals are also less likely to focus on minute details and are more inclined to grasp the broader picture, often leading to creative problem-solving. The added visual processing abilities therefore become a feature of dyslexia, not a bug.
‘Twice-Exceptional’ (2e)
The term 2e describes someone who is both gifted and neurodivergent (ND). For someone who is 2e, they might experience simultaneous strengths and deficits from both exceptionalities. These can include increased creativity, flow-state work, and intense interests while at the same time experiencing decreased executive functioning skills and emotional regulation. No one is advocating the military automatically accept all neurodivergent applicants. However, autistic, ADHD, and dyslexic recruits who can meet the Army’s other requirements should have a shot. 2e is a great place for the Army to start recruiting.
We’re Already Here
The Department of Defense doesn’t understand neurodivergence, demonstrated when Pentagon officials describe ADHD as ‘…a developmental condition that goes away in adulthood’. It’s equally damning that the DoD policy makes no mention of 2e recruits, many of whom would make ideal servicemembers. But a major reason the military shouldn’t be excluding neurodivergent recruits is because we’re already here. If you don’t think that there are (undiagnosed) autistic people already in the armed forces, you’re not paying attention. They are among your analysts and your technicians, but also among your battalion and brigade commanders.
The two main reasons you might not have known are masking and a lack of diagnosis. Masking is something we all do on occasion to conform to societal or cultural norms. It is similar to code-switching, the subtle shift in language (verbal and non-verbal) when going from work to home. Masking, however, becomes more of a survival mechanism for the neurodivergent and is extremely taxing.
Lack of diagnosis is the other reason. When there are only negative consequences to getting tested, to include outright losing your job, there is no incentive to get formally tested. The prohibitive costs for adult testing, impacts to your deployability, and the stigma associated with formal diagnoses are all reasons why soldiers opt for masking their neurodivergence instead. None of the authors of this article have pursued formal diagnoses for our neurodivergence, in part for this very reason.
One place that has long been a haven for the neurodivergent is in Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF). Back in the early 1940s when General Wild Bill Donovan was standing up the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), his team was well ahead of the curve on diversity, accepting women and minorities in a time when the US was still trying to force the UK to designate race segregated pubs. The OSS sought to wage an “ungentlemanly war” against the Axis, and so in addition to recruiting people who looked different, it also sought recruits who thought differently. ARSOF traces its heritage back to the OSS and other special operations units that found ways to maximize the potential of misfits, and in the eighty years since has expanded this effort, finding a way to weaponize the neurodivergent.
While the Army was focused on uniformity to a fault, ARSOF was carving out space for people like us to be soldiers and successful. USASOC became a home for neurodivergence because it’s a place that enables everyone to thrive, finding the opportunity in soldiers most units in the army discarded for cursory reasons. It’s the subtle difference between uniformity and conformity. Conformity is about meeting standards instead of demanding everyone look and act the same. Two of this paper’s authors have had highly successful careers in the Army. Veterans of multiple combat tours, we were both selected for battalion command, despite our neurodivergent brains that would, if diagnosed by a psychologist, disqualify us from even joining the Army today. There are “neurospicy” drone pilots in Ukraine right now with more Russian tank kills than any serving member of the US military.
Neurodivergence is not a superpower. Neurodivergent brains can be a strength, and they can be a challenge. But they are not inherently disabled, nor disqualifying from service.
Spectrum Managers: Leading Neurodivergent Military Talent
While neurodivergent minds can struggle with some aspects of the army, little changes and accommodations can make all the difference. Some of the changes you make for neurodivergent service members will benefit your unit overall.
For service members that require deep work, like intelligence analysis, computer programming, or simply writing an email, consider organizing your space to reduce distractions. Most units cannot afford to provide private offices for each teammate but consider noise-canceling headphones and distraction-free set ups. Units can consider alternating between deep work (remote) and collaboration (in the office) days to balance the different modes of productivity.
Neurodivergent people are often much less attuned to social cues, which can cause friction. A common trait in those with ADHD is the habit of finishing others sentences. The ADHD mind recognizes patterns and attempts to auto complete, creating a dopamine hit on one side and an offended person on the other. One of the authors received multiple performance counseling for interrupting as a young soldier. What was intended to communicate a clear understanding was taken as insubordination. But that lack of social deference can help break through the resistance in your formations to raise issues. Not only are neurodivergent soldiers more willing to raise their hand and offer a counterpoint, but they create the psychological safety for neurotypicals around them to do the same.
One of the biggest areas that can help neurodivergent workers is using clear, concise communication regarding expectations and outcomes. Know when you want something done word for word versus when some creativity could be beneficial. Allowing neurodivergent people to run with something can lead to unexpected and beneficial innovations for the unit. For the best results, consider complementing your process-oriented teammates with your most creative. Diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams. The decision-making friction allows for the time and space for teams to get to correct decisions. When pairing command teams, watch officers, or red team analysts, a savvier understanding of neurodiversity can help good teams become great.
Neurodivergence should also be considered at places like Command Assessment Program (CAP). A timed essay writing competition is unlikely to help you find the best future battalion commanders, and disproportionately impacts neurodivergent candidates who may struggle with organizing written information under time constraints.
The Department of Defense should do more to allow atypical career paths. The Army actually has a lot of ways to serve, but too often the leadership of the Army only mentors soldiers to follow the path that got them where they are. Prohibitions on deployments or some OCONUS assignments for the neurodivergent are unnecessary, and counterproductive. This extends to programs like EFMP which will automatically disqualify many families for assignments with little to no understanding of what neurodivergence is.
The military needs to do what ARSOF has been doing since the days of Donovan, and recognize a little weirdness is ok. Not every neurodivergent citizen in America is going to join, but many of them are patriots who want to serve. Our coalition partners, to include the UK, Australia, and the Israelis have all begun to actively recruit neurodivergent candidates. We shouldn’t be pushing off the neurodivergent to Silicon Valley or Wall Street, but funneling them to Sand Hill, and ROTC programs. General Donovan was renowned for his “power to visualize an oak when he saw an acorn”. The military would do well to do the same.
And to those of you already in the service, in particular those in conventional units who are struggling to fit in, ARSOF is always looking for new talent.
About the Authors:
Dr. Katy Davis, Ed.D. M.S. SLP-CCC, is a Doctor of Cognitive Diversity in Education with over 15 years of experience as a speech-language pathologist (SLP), specializing in working with autistic children and those who communicate through alternative and augmentative modes. Her research focus is on twice-exceptional and autistic children in military families. Katy is an advocate for neurodivergent individuals, drawing from her personal experiences as a military spouse and parent to two autistic children.
Lt. Col. Erik Davis, U.S. Army, has over sixteen years of experience in special operations. He is a Gen. Wayne A. Downing Scholar with master’s degrees from King’s College London and the London School of Economics. His assignments have taken him from village stability operations in rural villages in Afghanistan to preparing for high-end conflict in the First Island Chain. He is currently an Army War College Fellow with the Australian Strategic Policies Institute. Lt. Col. Nick Frazier, Lt. Col. Nick Frazier, U.S. Army, is a Gen. Wayne A. Downing Scholar with a master’s in foreign service from Georgetown University. He is a 2024 Nonresident Fellow with the Irregular Warfare Initiative, a joint production between Princeton’s Empirical Studies of Conflict Project and the Modern War Institute at West Point. In his current role, he focuses on accelerating the delivery of autonomous capabilities to ARSOF.
