Army's Age Now 39--Am I Crazy To Contemplate Joining?

[WT]

An acquaintance is a nurse-practitioner. Went in as a 2LT. NO BASIC WHATSOEVER. Just showed up at Bragg (Benning?) and went to work the same day. Took 2 weeks to get fitted up with uniforms. Most of the day he is in scrubs so no big deal.

If you have the CALLING, go for it. Ignore the doom and gloom. At your age you will be able to handle the Mickey Mouse things with a chuckle or two.

 

[benEzra]

Maybe they should put a "gimp & geezer" brigade together for us old and broke soldiers who still want to do our part.

You guys would probably do pretty well. You know that old quotation about youth and skill vs. old age and treachery...

 

[Fred Fuller]

c,

My basic question is, and IMHO the main question you must answer for yourself is- what do you want to get out of it? What is it that you want to accomplish by this particular career move?

If you want to test yourself, I can assure you joining the Army will provide you tests of sorts you never before contemplated- physical, emotional, mental, intellectual, character, you name it. You will learn a lot about yourself, I can assure you. You will also learn a lot about your fellow American soldiers, their officers, the contractors and civilians and the organization they comprise AKA the big green machine. Fair warning- you will not like a certain amount of what you learn. It will change you forever and change your life forever too.

If you want to get rich- forget it.

If you want to be a hero- forget it.

If you want to further your education- you have a little wiggle room but not much. A certification program etc is about it that the Army will pay for at this point.

If you want to travel, you might get to do that. Of course, you might not like some of the places you travel TO... .

I retired a while back from a career working with soldiers. I saw an awful lot of unhappy people in the past 23 years, and some happy ones too. Seemed to me like the outlook of the individual soldier had a lot to do with how satisfied they were.

Just don't get hurt...

Much luck,

lpl/nc

 

[Cosmoline]

GO TAKE THE BAR!!! And if you don't pass the first time, keep trying.QUOTE]

I've been a working attorney for many years now. My career is set, that's not the reason I'm thinking about this (though federal debt reduction as part of the deal would be real nice). And it's certainly not to be a hero or because I like the look of the new ACU. Primarily, it's because I have no ties at the moment, and it would be far less of a burden for me to be pulled away from civilian life than it is for younger people with family obligations.

JAG recruiting is distinct from the main officer corps and so far I can't tell if they're also waiving the age requirements. I don't know if they're even hard up for attorneys right now. Usually they have more than they need (kinda like the US as a whole). The way the law school system is set up, there will always be a percentage of graduates who can't find jobs in the civilian sector, so it's not usually a problem for the JAG people to get people interested. Doctors and nurses are different--the need there is far greater.


The shortage seems to be in the low ranks of the main officer corps, where folks from the ROTC system have been getting out as soon as they can, usually at O3. Those who don't leave are the ones who advance beyond 03 and also contribute to the low rank shortfall.

Frankly the big problem I have with the officer systems is the "up or out" doctrine. If I go in, it sure as heck won't be to get more brass on my shoulder. I could care less about that. If I find a spot where I can do the most good, I'd want to stay there. But that seems to run counter to the prevailing system.

 

[280PLUS]

Frankly the big problem I have with the officer systems is the "up or out" doctrine.

It's the same (or was the same anyways) for enlisted. They didn't like it if you weren't making rank. I was there to do my job. I didn't really care about rank and it affected my "stay" adversely.

I was actually here to kick in my $0.02 to mention a discussion I had with a couple of other older vets about going back in just recently. One of them raised a very good point about how well, at your age, can you function without SLEEP? That was probably the toughest part of being in the service.

For example, I had weeks where I stood watch from 0345 till 0745 then "turned to" or worked for 8 hours and then back on watch at 1545 till 1945 (4 pm till 8 pm) we called them the "4 to 8's" That's a 16 hour every day for a WEEK!

Now I see you're an ttorney so this may or may not apply to your particular case (no pun intended ) but YOU NEVER KNOW with the military. You could find yourself in Adek(sp?) in charge of the guys shoveling the snow.

 

[280PLUS]

On a serious note, am I the only one who thinks of the firends I had and the yougn troops I mentored while I was in and get an overwhealming feeling I should be over there with them? keeps me up at nights.

No you are not.

 

[Relayer]

I say if it's what you want, go for it.

If your head is right (and your knees are sound) you can do it.

Lord knows the country needs good men.

 

[stevelyn]

OSUT at age 19 and on active duty for 8 1/2 years. DPS Academy at age 30. I'm 41 now. Mentally I think I would be much better in the military now than when I was in.
However, over the last few years I've noticed that I don't recover from bumps and dings as quickly as I used to. Little aches and pains I either didn't have or notice before put in more frequent appearances. I have to work harder to get the same gains I got when I was younger. I have a pinched nerve that is probably caused by some dumbarse company commander having us carry more crap in our packs than they were designed to handle just because. And there are days that I eat ibuprofen or naproxen sodium like M&Ms. I seriously doubt I could handle 16-18 hour days for days on end anymore. The military is a young man's game due to the physical intensity of soldiering.
Are you crazy for contemplating joining? No, but I don't think you understand what it is you would be getting yourself into.

 

[Cosmoline]

You could find yourself in Adek(sp?) in charge of the guys shoveling the snow.

Sadly, Adak has closed. Otherwise it would be a sweet posting. Not much snow, though.

 

[racenutz]

If you're crazy you're not the only one. In a year I'll be shipping out & will be 32 then.

 

[280PLUS]

Sadly, Adak has closed.

No more Adak? I'll bet THAT broke a bunch of hearts...

Given your present location I THOUGHT you might like the idea!



Oh, a memory in terms of making rank.

The SECOND time I made E-4

I was under a direct order to take the test.

In words, "You WILL take the test."

 

[bogie]

Keep in mind too that the Army is one of the largest bureaucracies (actually, it's a subset of the largest...) in the world.

That can drive you nuts. As a JAG officer, you'll either thrive on it, or go insane.

 

[spartacus2002]

I don't know if they're even hard up for attorneys right now.

They are getting quite a few in the door, but quite a few are leaving after 5-7 years, too -- many more than the JAGC expected. I'm sure they would consider taking you.

As for up or out promotions, well, with promotion rates in the high 90% I'm sure you would do fine.

However, as a lawyer you have to consider whether you want to take a 3-10 year break from private practice, because it will be hell on earth to re-enter private practice afterward.

 

[C-grunt]

do it

Im currently in Iraq with 3rd ID and I have a couple friends in my platoon who joined in their late 20s early 30s. Very few people are in good shape when they go to basic training. If its something you really want to do, I say go for it. If you have bad knees I would suggest not going infantry. Im 21 and my knees feel about 40. Have fun.