From Army Times
The Defense Department quietly asked Congress on Monday to raise the maximum age for military recruits to 42 for all branches of the service.
Under current law, the maximum age to enlist in the active components is 35, while people up to age 39 may enlist in the reserves. By practice, the accepted age for recruits is 27 for the Air Force, 28 for the Marine Corps and 34 for the Navy and Army, although the Army Reserve and Navy Reserve sometimes take people up to age 39 in some specialties.
The Pentagon’s request to raise the maximum recruit age to 42 is part of what defense officials are calling a package of “urgent wartime support initiatives” sent to Congress Monday night prior to a Tuesday hearing of the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee.
Some effort is being made to present this as though people over the age of forty are beating down the military’s door. I listened to a story on NPR on Saturday about a 42 year old that wanted to enlist, and then in Stars And Stripes there is this
“I also think that we make a mistake in the military by having people automatically be forced out in the event that they may wish to stay in,” he said.
I see this as a way to force people that would be aloud to retire to stay. I was wondering what the crowd here thought of the new change.
I think they ought to raise it to 100 so that none of those old men who love to send young people to war will have an excuse not to go. Caspar Weinberger, are you still alive? How about you, Henry K, Nancy would love you a uniform! Dick Cheney, here’s your chance to go for a record-breaking 6th student deferment!
🙂
I think it will misteriously always remain just below the average age of the average Congressperson.
We you born so aware of the subtle and so funny all at the same time or did you have to work on it?
I needed that.
Also 🙂
I suspect you’re right.
You know, their economic policies and their military policies may one day dovetail–when enough people are so desperate and bankrupt that their only hope of feeding themselves or their families is to join the military. They will be joined by all the kids who once would have gone to college, but can no longer afford to, and by people who desperately need health care for somebody in their family. Oh, and by the people who are of retirement age, only they lost their jobs and their pensions and can’t find another job except in the military. I could go on.
Then we will have a full fighting force again.
We should also lower the age to say, age 1, when kids start walking. No reason those rugrats can’t pull their own weight. Think of all the potential uses a person so small could perform in the military. I’d better e-mail Rummy right away with this.
And here I thought that job hunting was going to be long and fruitless when my son goes to school, I’m only 40….just a baby really and qualified for all sorts of things now!
I wonder, is this move also setting the standard for draft-age-persons, when they re-start the draft?
An effort to kill of non babyboomers.
all those men and women who have lost their job due to it being shipped overseas and can’t get work… let alone work with coverage and bennies NOW have an avenue.
sarcasm
all those babies that Roberts & Repugs will force women and young girls to have — place them in a special military orphanage so that when they reach the appropriate age – they can just be thrust into the military.