"The only person who decides if you can’t is you"

Cpl. A., who serves as a decipher for aerial photographs in the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 9900, always knew that something about him was different. "My parents and I knew for many years that something about me was different, but we didn’t understand exactly what it was," recalls Corporal A. "When I was listening to a lecture in middle school on Asperger's, I said to myself, ‘That sounds so similar to me.'”  

Even though Cpl. A. was diagnosed with Asperger's at the age of 16, there was no doubt in his mind that he would still serve in the IDF. "I was exempt from military service, but I wanted very much to enlist,” says Cpl. A. “I felt obligated to those who had protected me all these years.”

After searching for an IDF program for Cpl. A., his family found "Seeing Far"- an innovative program designed to integrate adults on the autistic spectrum into professions within the IDF where they have a relative advantage. These include: decoding aerial photographs, informatics, QA software, electronics, and optoelectronics.

Cpl. A. serves through the program "Seeing Far," in a key role in Unit 9900. He works in a unique department of soldiers with Asperger’s whose heightened perceptual skills are an asset.  In this role, soldiers collect visual information from the field and decode aerial photographs, which helps create a comprehensive intelligence picture of the area.

"The hardest thing for me is to feel ineffective," he says emphatically. "I know that if I look at something long enough, I’ll understand it. I won’t give up. I'm the type of person who doesn’t stop. I knew that if I enlisted, I would do a full service. There’s no way that I would decide to give up and be released. This isn't an option for me."

"In the past, in large gatherings, I would sit on the side hoping someone would come talk to me," recalled Cpl. A. However, at the program’s first meeting, Cpl. A. said things changed. “I remember realizing that this was the first time I met people on the spectrum. Because everyone was like me, I wasn’t afraid to go, and today I’m still friends with everyone who was in my course."

Cpl. A.’s spirit comes from home. "My mother was discharged from the Intelligence Branch," Cpl. A. reveals with a smile. "I'm not arrogant, but it's special to follow in her footsteps."

There are people who assists Cpl. A. and his colleagues in the program to help them deal with the special challenges they face during their service. These staff members from the "Seeing Far" program come to the unit every week and meet with the program's soldiers and their commanders.

As part of this year’s Independence Day events, Cpl. A. proudly represented the program in a video screened at the President's Excellence ceremony. "This year he received a medal of excellence for his unit, and this is only the beginning of his career," said Lt. A., Cpl. A.’s commander. "The goal of the program is ultimately to integrate the soldiers into the military so they can contribute and give what they have. They’re a vast reservoir of knowledge."

"Often when people are in the same predicament as I was, they’re first told that they can’t do it and that they are not capable," says Cpl. A. I want them to know that the only ones who can decide whether they can or can’t are themselves.”