How would you handle a Soldier (one automatically promoted to E-5) with a serious learning disability?

You may have to make a tough decision on this guy. Your primary responsibility is to your men, your commander, and the Army. If this guy has a wife and kids it may be a tough decision on your part, because you may be stripping him of the only decent livelihood he's ever going to have. I don't like to give up on people like his prior SL did. I would suggest you work with him. Does he know about his learning disability, and what is at stake if he fails? As obvious as it may be to you, it may not be to him. Sit him down and let him know where he stands in all of this. Let him decide if he wants to improve or be the recipient of bad NCOER's -----if the Army still uses them. Incident, your 1st Sergeant may be of some help to you---I counsel you not give up on anyone, regardless of what stories come with him----The final decision is yours---think it through before you do it.

Admin separate the member if necessary.

S
The soldier finishes the enlistment and is not retained

Looks like you have gotten a lot of good advise, at this point, what happened and why is probably less important than acting in the best interests of your subordinate and your unit. I concur that you should have him professionally evaluated ASAP, and then with input from them and if you have access, an educator determine if a development program can be designed to allow them to become a competent solder and develop professionally.

It may be that it is everyone's best interests to discharge them. It may be that it's just that a different approach is needed. It may just be a matter of a professional working with them to teach them how to better cope with their disability to turn it into an ability. I have a cousin who was diagnosed with dyslexia early in his life, today he is is a forensic CPA. I have worked with sailors and seen them go from trouble child to 4.0 sailors. Not that I am any sort of motivational genius, I just took time to let them know I cared, made my expectations clear and found a way to motivate them.

First thing first what is his disability? Second how on earth did he get promoted automatically to the pay grade of E-5? From what you wrote three things come to mind 1. He has dyslexia 2. He is a functional illiterate 3. ADHD witch would help me understand His poor socialization skills. You really need to go up the chain of command and get this guy the proper help. When I was faced with a sailor such as this I would use the rinse and repeat method and close supervision.

Always use soldiers where they can best succeed. But sometimes you must let them go. I had an SP4 that I told would never make e-5 and just make plans for civilian life. More diplomatic that this but was best for soldier and Army.

Attempt to get the NCO the help they need. If it can't be treated, initiate bar to reenlist. If NCO is more than a year out from ETS, initiate chapter.

As a former recruiter/station commander, my first question is how did this guy get into uniform in the first place? His situation warrants an investigation all the way back to his recruiter. It sounds to me like someone had a "ringer" take the test (ASVAB) for him. There are checks and balances in place to prevent it, but, unfortunately, some occasionally slip through. If caught soon enough, Recruiting Command does its own internal investigation. When corruption is proven, those involved are unceremoniously removed from their jobs. Disciplinary action may or may not follow. Most often, they are returned to their original MOS, but that black mark is on their record permanently. No one contract is worth sending my Army an unfit, in any way, soldier.

First if I was his SL, I would go to my COC for guidance and bring up on his test scores for the ASVAB if he passed or not. Unless it has changed (been retired 10yrs and a former recruiter) min score on ASVAB is 31 if you have a HS Diploma and 50 for GED (if that door is open). If this soldier scores were not above 31, I would recommend to the COC ask USAREC (correct?) to investigate the recruiting company and the MEPS on how this person got through. If no fault falls on that soldier, I would suggest that soldier is not put in a leadership position and place him where he cannot do any harm and let him ETS with honorable discharge. His heart is in the right place to serve his country, but let not screw him with a chapter and a general discharge. As for his current leadership, need to learn what his disability is and adapt to it and be patient as much as possible.

I think we all need to not diagnose through 3rd party experience. Go with the things you know to be true. He made it through Basic Training - no small feat for someone with a learning disability or socialization issues.
I have been out for a few years, but I have never heard of "automatic promotion" to E5. How does that work?
The issues you list are the same issues that seem to pop up for TBI, PTS, Depression, etc. don't just focus on the fact he had a learning disability as a child. Although he may have a disability, it doesn't mean it is the cause of the symptoms you list.
Set the standard for him, give him the tools and talk with him.