I am willing to explain, if people will allow the discussion to remain civil, which to be honest, it has not, since someone called me an ass.
I said:
If you are 40 years old, and your best prospect is enlisting in the Army, you really should have tried a little harder.
This statement is apparently very offensive to some. If you are offended by it, then I apologize, but that does not mean I disagree with my statement. I will attempt to elaborate one more time:
There are four types of 40 yr olds I can think of who would be willing to join the Army (and I realize they are generalizations, but will probably cover most 40 yr old volunteers. Certainly their would be exceptions):
1. The Patriot. This is someone who wants to serve their country. They give up their civilian life, and join the military. I think there are relatively few people out their who could do this, even if they wanted to. By age 40 most people have families to raise, mortgages to pay, etc. They would certainly make more money in the civilian world, but their sense of duty compels them to serve. As I said before, if this is your motivation, that is admirable. The fact that they start off as an E-1 is ok with them, because their motivation is patriotic. I do not think the Army will meet its recruitment goals by counting on large numbers of these people to join. My comments to do not apply to this person.
2. The Technician. This is someone with a useful skill, such as engineer, nurse, whatever. He has a useful skill, and when he joins the Army starts off as something higher than E-1. Motivation is patriotic, but he is not really giving up his whole lifestyle, since he will have a status similar to what he had in the civilian world, though probably less salary. I don't believe that raising the age of recruitment to 40 is likely to affect recruitment of these people, as many of the technical jobs in the military already have had the age requirements waived or extended. My comments do not apply to this person.
3. The Challenger. This is someone who is bored with their current job or life, and wants a change. He is joining mainly for personal reasons, not so much for patriotism as the need to do something more exciting. He doesn't mind taking a pay cut, and change in his life situation for the opportunity to have adventure. I think there are relatively few of these people, and my comments do not apply to them.
4. The Flunkie. This is the person who has no usable skill. He's been flipping burgers at McDonalds since he got out of high school, got fired last night, and has heard the Army will now take him even though he turned 40. This is the person I think will most likely be recruited by the Army with their new age criterial. His best job offer is to become a private in the Army. This is the person to whom my original quote refers. I don't think our Army is any better off if he joins. If your best job offer is to join the military at age 40, then it would seem you have wasted about 20 yrs.
I realize joining the military is more than a paycheck. If you are 40, and you are doing it just for the money, then you are to whom I am referring. No one else has reason to be insulted by what I have said.