Hot diggity dog!
Baker says the tale is based on this true story about some very special forces indeed:
The Army’s recruitment of an autistic teen has once again put the spotlight on the pressures recruiters face in trying to get new volunteers in a time of war.
Earlier this week, 18-year-old Jared Guinther from Portland, Ore., was released from his four-year military committment after The Oregonian newspaper reported that he should not have been enlisted, given his medical condition. He was diagnosed with autism at age 3.
I worked as the director of a group home from 2001 – 2006, and once the military recruiters found out that we were a home for up to 10 teenage boys, they couldn’t stay away. Even though we had kids with extensive criminal records and severe mental illnesses. There was one recruiter who would explain to kids how to get into the military even though they were on POWERFUL medication by giving them a list that explained how long they needed to be off the medication for it not to show up in the military’s drug tests.
So if anyone thinks this is an islated incident, they just don’t know how ruthless and desperate military recruiters are.