Stuttering is often misunderstood, especially within structured environments like the military, where communication is key. But that’s not to say that individuals who stutter cannot serve effectively in various roles. What is the military like as a person who stutters (PWS)? How does an intense, robust environment impact a PWS’s ability to communicate? We sat down with two PWS involved in the armed forces to get their perspective.
Understanding Stuttering
Stuttering is a speech difference in which the flow of speech is involuntarily disrupted. It may involve repetitions, prolongations of sounds, or blocks in speech. It’s crucial to note that stuttering is not a psychological issue but has neurological and genetic roots. Additionally, it does not affect intelligence or emotional stability. It affects about 1% of the population, meaning nearly three million people stutter in the U.S. alone.
Stuttering and Military Service
In the military, where clear and efficient communication is often perceived as essential, people who stutter may face unique challenges. However, many individuals who stutter perform exceptionally well in roles that require public communication and decision-making under pressure. The notion that people who stutter cannot serve effectively is a misconception.
Breaking Stereotypes
Common stereotypes suggest that people who stutter are nervous or lack confidence. However, these are myths. Stuttering does not reflect a person’s emotional state or ability to perform under pressure. In fact, military personnel who stutter often bring unique qualities to their roles, such as heightened patience, perseverance, and empathy—skills that are invaluable in high-stress environments.
Meet Shea Quinn
Shea Quinn has served in the U.S. Coast Guard for 15 years. He is a Lieutenant Commander serving as a helicopter pilot for maritime search-and-rescue missions and counter-narcotics interdictions. He is currently stationed at US Northern Command in Colorado Springs, CO. While he’s stuttered since second grade, he experienced no hesitation in joining the military.
“I don’t know if it was any different than what I expected to encounter in my everyday life,” Quinn said. “I knew it was going to be an issue whether I was in the military or not. I don’t recall feeling reservation about it, I don’t recall ever wondering if I would be able to do it, I just knew that it would likely be challenging. I was just going to have to work through those challenges as they arose.”
Even entry into the Coast Guard Academy was challenging for Quinn. When he applied to the Academy, the initial medical screening included a read-aloud test, where “his stutter advertised itself.” In addition to self-disclosing, there was enough information in his medical record that it was known that he stuttered. Because of this, he was medically disqualified. However, Quinn obtained a waiver through additional interviews with medical officers, eventually allowing him entry.
In the summer between academic years in the Academy, Quinn would be underway aboard Coast Guard cutters or assigned to air stations to learn more about how operations work in-service. Upon graduation, Quinn was thrust into a leadership role and was in charge of a dozen individuals.
Thanks to the therapy he received in middle and high school, he learned how to advertise his stutter, which helped him tremendously in the Academy and during his service. Early in his career, he met with his supervisors and disclosed his stutter. While this helped relieve some pressure to be fluent, Quinn said this disclosure didn’t eliminate the innate challenges of stuttering or the expectation to communicate effectively under stress.
The operating environment, atmosphere, and duties provoke challenges related to stuttering more often for Quinn. His primary role in his first assignment was as an Underway OOD (Officer of the Deck), stationed on the bridge while at sea, responsible for the save navigation and operation of the ship as the direct representative of the Commanding Officer. This position, in which he worked 8 hours daily, required making announcements throughout the ship and many scripted phone calls.
For example, if Quinn’s ship was close to another boat at sea, he had to explain the situation over the phone in a very certain way. So no substituting words!
“Having to read a script on the phone to a supervisor in front of an audience, it [would be] a challenging situation for anybody who stutters,” said Quinn, “I can’t say that I didn’t try not to stutter, but I do know that I was not successful in hiding it. So I had to work through it, which, oftentimes, was accepting the struggle in the moment and just finding a way through it. That’s where I think advertising helped me a lot.”
Quinn almost always self-disclosed his stutter during his first introduction to a new unit. He said this disclosure helped shipmates be more receptive and willing to listen to what he had to say, ensuring he could communicate effectively even during moments of tension with his speech.
Throughout his career in Coast Guard aviation, Quinn has connected with many people who stutter and share a passion for flight. Aware of their concerns about the communication demands—such as briefings, radio calls, and crew interactions—he emphasizes the importance of sharing his experiences to reassure others that they are not alone in navigating these challenges while pursuing their dreams.
“Sure, some of the pre-flight briefings can be challenging, but stuttering has never been an issue for me in the aircraft. I don’t know if it’s a similar phenomena to not stuttering when learning a new language [the language of aviation], if it’s aided by the ‘delayed auditory feedback’ of hearing yourself speak in your headset/helmet, if having so many other tasks to focus on keeps me from remembering that I stutter, or some combination of all the above, but stuttering isn’t on my mind when I’m in the air.”
And one unique advantage of being a PWS in the military? Knowing how to push through when it matters.
"We have to unlock our speech mechanism every day, all the time,” Shea said. “We know what to do when it locks up. If someone who doesn't stutter freezes under stress, they may not have the ability to quickly unlock their speech. And that could be detrimental to the job."
Here is Quinn's valuable advice for people who want to join the military but fear that their stutter will impact their ability to do their jobs:
“Externally, advertising [your stutter] up front is really helpful … By acknowledging it, you don’t allow folks who would have an issue with it to raise it as an issue … Internally, I always try to remember how I would feel if I either didn’t say what I wanted to say or I somehow let the fact that I stutter influence my actions…"
Meet Michael Molino, USN (Ret), SLP
Michael Molino served in the Navy for over 24 years before retiring in spring 2011 as Chief Petty Officer (Surface Warfare/Aviation Warfare). He was responsible for up to 125 people at one time. At 20 years old, during his third semester of college, he realized that higher education wasn’t what he wanted to do at that time in his life.
“One day on my way home from school, I pulled into a parking lot, where I stared at a big sign, ‘NAVY RECRUITING,’” Molino recalled. “I walked in and I joined. Of course, when I went in, my speech was pretty noticeable. I sat down and I said, ‘Well, I stutter,’ and they would just look up jobs. I was pretty set on what I wanted to do.”
Molino’s initial admittance into the military was relatively struggle-free, aside from various one-off speaking situations. During his final medical review, a medical doctor told him, “No flight school,” and he was in.
When Molino first got in, he served in aviation. After four years, he switched jobs. He tried to be a diver but was disqualified for not meeting the criteria for “perfect speech.” After looking at other jobs, he found a special warfare program, but after an interview, he again faced disqualification.
“Now, that doesn’t go to say that if I use my techniques every minute of the day, I could probably get in, just like Shea did. He came back and showed them … and they allowed him to fly. He’s flying a helicopter and has to talk all day long. He does a remarkable job."
When it came to job performance, Molino was evaluated just like any other employee. However, he was rated lower in communication abilities despite having a perfect rating in all other areas.
Because of this, he missed making the next rank by less than a point three times in a row.
“I finally had enough of it,” Molino said when he approached his superiors. “I said, ‘I don’t agree with the communication line. I have a stutter, it’s obvious, but it doesn’t impede me from getting my point across. I think I should be at a 4.0 instead of a 3.8.’ My supervisor said, ‘I agree’ and changed the mark to a 4.0." Molino advanced off the next exam cycle.
In addition to honing his self-advocacy skills as a PWS, Molino also discovered community during his service. It wasn’t until his third ship working downstairs in engineering that Molino finally encountered another PWS. When he went to shore duty years later as a chief, he discovered he had a yeoman (who handles clerical and administrative matters for ships and personnel) who was a PWS.
Once Molino realized this, he called the yeoman into his office. That was when Molino disclosed his stutter, and the two had a “long, intimate conversation” about it, as well as an instant connection. Molino said he specifically advocated for this yeoman to go to speech therapy, which the Navy eventually paid for.
When Molino started his next command on a bigger ship, he met two other PWS. Molino developed an unspoken bond with these people, so much so that he essentially created his own unofficial stuttering support group. Right before retiring, he gathered all four PWS on board, including himself, to spend a few hours together to talk about stuttering.
“The majority of them were junior sailors,” said Molino. “There was only me and another guy who were senior enlisted. At first, [the junior sailors] were a little apprehensive … It’s not every day that you have something in common with a person three or four ranks above you.”
Since the military does not have a traditional Human Resources department or any Employee Resource Groups, Molino said that having this kind of support as a PWS during the earlier years of his career would’ve been “tremendous and immeasurable.” Now, Molino is paying it forward by guiding other PWS who aspire to pursue a career in the military and helping them achieve their goal of service through recommendation letters.
But that’s not all Molino is doing to show support to the stuttering community. In 2017, Molino helped start a private military support network/group for PWS on Facebook in connection with the National Stuttering Association (NSA).
While everyone should be able to serve their country, concise and quick communication is vital in the military because it enables clear, efficient exchanges of critical information, often in high-pressure or life-threatening situations. Molino emphasized this point in his interview.
“Today, everyone thinks a disability needs to be looked at in a different way and they should let everyone in, or PWS should do anything they want,” Molino said. “That would be nice in a perfect world, but … it’s the government … they don’t have to follow [disability laws]. I firmly believe there are some jobs where you need to communicate effectively. If you have a disorder of some sort, maybe that’s not where you need to be.”
Navigating a military career as a person who stutters involves more than just mastering ships or helicopters—it demands navigating complex physical and mental challenges beyond the typical demands of other professions. While a perfect world would be free of discrimination, the reality is that individuals who stutter may face unique barriers and may need to devote additional effort to manage their stutter before pursuing a military career.
According to Molino, maximizing your chances of joining the military and advancing in rank requires honing your ability to effectively manage the struggles of stuttering. This is necessary in order to help to reduce potential obstacles along the way.
Promoting a Supportive Environment
It is crucial to create a supportive environment where individuals feel comfortable stuttering and discussing their stuttering. Encouraging openness helps reduce anxiety and can actually decrease stuttering severity. Military organizations should also consider providing resources, such as access to speech therapy and support groups, to help those who stutter navigate their careers successfully.
People who stutter have much to offer the military, from unique problem-solving skills to empathy and resilience. By fostering an inclusive culture that values diverse communication styles, the military can ensure that it does not miss out on the valuable contributions of individuals who stutter.
For more information about stuttering, visit our website at WeStutter.org.
The NSA extends its deepest gratitude to Shea Quinn and Michael Molino for their service and courageously sharing their stories with us. We also honor and thank all currently serving or have served in the U.S. military for their dedication and sacrifice.