Military service late in life

[thedutchtouch]

No disrespect meant at all to our service members, current, past, or future, but as a 37 to with two young kids and a good job/masters degree, it sounds like a terrible idea. We've missed the boat. I am looking in to joining search and rescue or other types of volunteer orgs. Not the same itch, but a different way to be active and contribute.

 

[HighUintas]

That being said, if you do join, know that it’s not all door kickers in the army, and a lot of guys get bored of door kicking quicker than you’d think. Someone at your stage of life should look at jobs that are intellectually challenging as well as the physically challenging ones. What’s your degree in? There are direct commission officer routes for some MOS. I didn’t do that but as an “environmental science and engineering officer” I worked with a lot of guys who did. I got to avoid a lot of the worst B.S. in the army once I got out of the platoon/company level, and I had a rewarding job keeping soldiers safe

That's funny. I've told my wife so many times that if someone offered me a job digging holes with a shovel that had the same pay and benefits, I'd take it. I really enjoy physical work, but do enjoy critical thinking and problem solving.

I have a BS in Physics. Taught high school physics and chemistry for 4 years, started up a brewery with a couple of partners, sold my interest and moved to a larger brewery to make it sustainable and relocate geographically and worked into the QA/QC management side there, and now I'm an Assoc Director of QC for a large bio molecular tech company.

I am looking in to joining search and rescue or other types of volunteer orgs. Not the same itch, but a different way to be active and contribute.

That is also something I'll be looking into if I decide not to or can't continue with military service route. I'd enjoy being able to do SAR or Vol fire part time.

I also really like the suggestion someone else had of looking into the wounded warrior hunting programs.

 

[timekiller13]

That's funny. I've told my wife so many times that if someone offered me a job digging holes with a shovel that had the same pay and benefits, I'd take it. I really enjoy physical work, but do enjoy critical thinking and problem solving.

I have a BS in Physics. Taught high school physics and chemistry for 4 years, started up a brewery with a couple of partners, sold my interest and moved to a larger brewery to make it sustainable and relocate geographically and worked into the QA/QC management side there, and now I'm an Assoc Director of QC for a large bio molecular tech company.




That is also something I'll be looking into if I decide not to or can't continue with military service route. I'd enjoy being able to do SAR or Vol fire part time.

I also really like the suggestion someone else had of looking into the wounded warrior hunting programs.

You’d be much better off SAR or volunteer FF.

Ive done both since leaving the military and have enjoyed them. Still get some high speed stuff. But not near the commitment or time away from family and less BS. Still some BS, but nothing like military.

I volunteer for some other things now for FEMA and state HazMat stuff.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

If you want it do it,some get it some don’t.
Maybe it’s not for everyone,I regret it.

 

[Ozarkansas]

That's funny. I've told my wife so many times that if someone offered me a job digging holes with a shovel that had the same pay and benefits, I'd take it. I really enjoy physical work, but do enjoy critical thinking and problem solving.

If it were just physical work, that would be one thing. I loved ROTC because it was just getting swole, running fast, practicing tactics, and doing land nav. I loved volunteering for burn crews when I got out because it’s exciting and physically demanding. But the military isn’t like that most of the time.

The military had a unique way of taking things I enjoyed and making them suck by adding tons of waiting and bureaucracy to them. I love working out but didn’t like PT, I love shooting but hated army ranges, I love camping but hated field exercises, etc. the physical challenge is the fun part of being in the army, the bureaucracy and unnecessary stress is why people leave it.

I know it sounds like I’m down on the military, but I’m not. I’m very glad that I served and had some amazing experiences. But unless your idea of a fun challenge is “have a very stressful week because an 18 year old lost an M4/married a stripper/crashed their Camaro”, you will be able to challenge yourself better and in more fun ways as a civilian

 

[Hnthrdr]

If it were just physical work, that would be one thing. I loved ROTC because it was just getting swole, running fast, practicing tactics, and doing land nav. I loved volunteering for burn crews when I got out because it’s exciting and physically demanding. But the military isn’t like that most of the time.

The military had a unique way of taking things I enjoyed and making them suck by adding tons of waiting and bureaucracy to them. I love working out but didn’t like PT, I love shooting but hated army ranges, I love camping but hated field exercises, etc. the physical challenge is the fun part of being in the army, the bureaucracy and unnecessary stress is why people leave it.

I know it sounds like I’m down on the military, but I’m not. I’m very glad that I served and had some amazing experiences. But unless your idea of a fun challenge is “have a very stressful week because an 18 year old lost an M4/married a stripper/crashed their Camaro”, you will be able to challenge yourself better and in more fun ways as a civilian

This was well said! I’m sure my previous posts sounds bitter which some things left a bad taste in my mouth, but I do not regret serving. Mostly as an officer you are serving soldiers/ncos ensuring that they are taken care of above all. Comes with some great and some not so great times for sure. But take something fun and give it to the army and they will make it suck. I will say SF still seems like s little slice of heaven, lots of that in the SOF world I’m sure. still has changed a lot from 20 years ago but way better than regular army BS.

Remember getting my assed chewed and having to ruin a Labor Day dove hunting trip because one of my soldier (who I actually) like got a DUI trying to come back on post… because it wasn’t his f-up it was my f-up too…

 

[southLA]

How old are you? You have family?

31 serious girlfriend that may get a title promotion soon haha

 

[Mojave]

I retired from the military 10 years ago.

Old guys sucked when I was a young man.

They had old guy attitudes, that they deserved to be treated like something other than a junior enlisted pog.

Old guys as officers also sucked, you are outside your age peer group. Junior officers ****** with them all the time.

You missed your shot.

FOMO doesn't really work in the military.

 

[HighUintas]

If it were just physical work, that would be one thing. I loved ROTC because it was just getting swole, running fast, practicing tactics, and doing land nav. I loved volunteering for burn crews when I got out because it’s exciting and physically demanding. But the military isn’t like that most of the time.

The military had a unique way of taking things I enjoyed and making them suck by adding tons of waiting and bureaucracy to them. I love working out but didn’t like PT, I love shooting but hated army ranges, I love camping but hated field exercises, etc. the physical challenge is the fun part of being in the army, the bureaucracy and unnecessary stress is why people leave it.

I know it sounds like I’m down on the military, but I’m not. I’m very glad that I served and had some amazing experiences. But unless your idea of a fun challenge is “have a very stressful week because an 18 year old lost an M4/married a stripper/crashed their Camaro”, you will be able to challenge yourself better and in more fun ways as a civilian

That makes a lot of sense. It would be made worse by having to hear words like "yeet" and "glizzy" constantly, then arguing that it's slang and not an English word, then being reminded by them you're old as hell

 

[Dooms]

Retired 2 months ago after 22 years Air Force/Space Force. I don't regret serving, but I have one piece of advice for people looking to join of any age.

Don't do it. Especially as a combat MOS. From my perspective, our current leadership, military and civilian, will get you killed and call it a win. If you watched our disgrace in Afghanistan, leaving behind thousands while importing whoever the militias let through (not Americans) by the plane full, and watching Dept of State shut down the Pineapple Express, our lives are not valued by military or civilian leadership. We are not ready at any level to fight the next war, and leadership is the most guilty of this problem. We are 100% focused on white rage and DEI, being amazing at killing people is not acceptable.

Now, after we get into the next major war, lose a large portion of our military and population, and decide to fight and win? 100%, I'll likely be back in uniform and glad to serve with you.

- Dooms

 

[Mojave]

Retired 2 months ago after 22 years Air Force/Space Force. I don't regret serving, but I have one piece of advice for people looking to join of any age.

Don't do it. Especially as a combat MOS. From my perspective, our current leadership, military and civilian, will get you killed and call it a win. If you watched our disgrace in Afghanistan, leaving behind thousands while importing whoever the militias let through (not Americans) by the plane full, and watching Dept of State shut down the Pineapple Express, our lives are not valued by military or civilian leadership. We are not ready at any level to fight the next war, and leadership is the most guilty of this problem. We are 100% focused on white rage and DEI, being amazing at killing people is not acceptable.

Now, after we get into the next major war, lose a large portion of our military and population, and decide to fight and win? 100%, I'll likely be back in uniform and glad to serve with you.

- Dooms

This!

I have a son in law half way through a career, and we are trying to figure out something for him to do in his trade.

I came in during tailhook, and left with the legalization of open homosexuality in the military.

The current push is the anti-white agenda.

 

[*zap*]

Thanks, Dooms. Glad someone said it.

 

[SArnold30]

Given your circumstances, I wouldn’t advise going the enlisted or active duty routes.

I had a tremendous experience forging myself in the Marine infantry and made some lifelong friends, but after two tours in Afghanistan the overwhelming majority of my peers and I had become so disillusioned we were counting down the days until we all got out.

I was considered “older” when I enlisted, even though I’d just turned 21. It didn’t take long for me to recognize the bureaucratic nonsense, incompetent and inept leadership, and double standards galore, all while trying to fight a war under the moronic Obama administration who essentially sympathized with the enemy we were sent to fight.

I don’t want to dissuade you, I don’t regret my time served; but I can only echo some of the common negatives others have previously highlighted. I think as an older man with your experience, it might be a pretty steep life adjustment for not only you, but your family as well.

 

[xsn10s]

Given your circumstances, I wouldn’t advise going the enlisted or active duty routes.

I had a tremendous experience forging myself in the Marine infantry and made some lifelong friends, but after two tours in Afghanistan the overwhelming majority of my peers and I had become so disillusioned we were counting down the days until we all got out.

I was considered “older” when I enlisted, even though I’d just turned 21. It didn’t take long for me to recognize the bureaucratic nonsense, incompetent and inept leadership, and double standards galore, all while trying to fight a war under the moronic Obama administration who essentially sympathized with the enemy we were sent to fight.

I don’t want to dissuade you, I don’t regret my time served; but I can only echo some of the common negatives others have previously highlighted. I think as an older man with your experience, it might be a pretty steep life adjustment for not only you, but your family as well.

I turned 21 in boot camp and I was considered an old man going in. Boot camp took out many due to injuries and they were much younger. Having been a wrestler all my life I was in shape, but it did some damage as running in combat boots in formation is horrible on the body. Shuffle steps instead of strides. I hate to dissuade anyone from military service. It was an honor to serve. I never serve overseas but was recalled for Desert Storm. And I always stayed informed on how different administrations oversaw troops in combats zones. To the OP I'm sure you did some serious soul searching while considering your enlistment. I pray whatever you choose it will be the best for you and your family. There will always be pros and cons to whatever we choose. Sacrifices, loses, and gains. And as SArnold30 said it's a serious life adjustment. For you and your family.

 

[scattergun]

our disgrace in Afghanistan

Y'know, there's a really simple and effective way to avoid this self-inflicted problem: don't invade other countries. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Desk Jockey]

What do you want to do In the military? Are you looking at something in combat arms or something in support? More technical? Are you trying to go SF and Are you looking at the 19th group in Utah? those full timer slots are hard to get with them Or they were in the 20th group back in the day. You had to know somebody.

FWIW - I was in Army SF during my 20s. SFAS and a few other things. There were a few guys your age in the pipeline. It was tough on all of us but especially on them. Of the older guys, Only the ones that were exceptional physically (great runners, studs) made it through. Lots of them had prior service and/or LEO backgrounds. I worked with plenty of guys deep in their 30s and early 40s at the team level. The ones that were effective maintained their fitness. the ones that weren’t in shape gravitated to support roles (or got pushed out). Nothing wrong with that. They had knowledge and experience that was valuable. Going in at that age, getting waivers wasn’t a sure thing either. Basically Uncle Sam didn’t want to spend +$500k on training for someone with a short shelf life.

i dont know how things have changed at this stage but I had a buddy that went in at your age 10-12 years ago. It was probably easier then because they were short staffed. Smart guy with a similar resume to yours if you exchanged the brewery stuff for faith based work. He made it through and had an 8 year run on active duty including a couple of stints in Afghanistan and overseas. He is out now but working for DOD as a civilian doing logistics.

I wouldn’t say not to do it, but be thoughtful. It’s unlikely that you can make it to a retirement age with them. Maybe consider starting in the guard and then volunteering for full time after you are in. You will know more by then and you will be in the system, so it is easier to make the jump. Make as many friends as you can along the way. Those contacts can open doors for future opportunities Like the logistics gig my buddy does.

 

[Lytro]

You're already educated, and honestly you're too old to serve long enough in what you're interested in doing for a military retirement. On top of that, it's pretty clear any sort of military lifestyle would be a nightmare for your family situation. There's not much to gain from joining.

Everyone I see joining later in life now are either in need of funding for education or they're joining to gain US citizenship. Like others have said, there's plenty of other ways to "serve" if you're simply looking to scratch an itch.

And if you're dumb enough to go through with it, don't be dumb enough to enlist. Commission.

 

[ddd-shooter]

You're already educated, and honestly you're too old to serve long enough in what you're interested in doing for a military retirement. On top of that, it's pretty clear any sort of military lifestyle would be a nightmare for your family situation. There's not much to gain from joining.

Everyone I see joining later in life now are either in need of funding for education or they're joining to gain US citizenship. Like others have said, there's plenty of other ways to "serve" if you're simply looking to scratch an itch.

And if you're dumb enough to go through with it, don't be dumb enough to enlist. Commission.

Agree. There’s not been one single positive outcome for him joining mentioned yet.
Other than he kinda has fomo-sorta.

Don’t do it.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Y'know, there's a really simple and effective way to avoid this self-inflicted problem: don't invade other countries. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yep, trust me the 19.5 years was a tax fraud on the American people. Al Queda deserved to get bombed into the history books and to a lesser extent the Tali for allowing them to have free reign, but nation building is an awful idea, all it does is lose dollars and soldiers blood and it doesn’t work… it’s like if we had only tried it in the 60/70’s and could have learned… oh wait

 

[dboone3]

I think military service is very glamorized. I joined the national guard when I was 19 and I hated it. A lot of sitting around and doing nothing and some toxic people. I think it would be unwise to join, you’d probably have a six year commitment with little flexibility for getting out if you didn’t like it. If you have some notion for service to our country, maybe look into volunteering in some capacity that supports veterans.