Too old to Join?

Question

I will be 23 by the end of this month, in June i will graduate from college with my Associates. I want to continue my education but dont want to be in more debt than i am now. I was thinkin about joining the Navy or the AF.

Am i too old to join? I dont want to be the oldest person there.

Will they pay for my school once im done with boot camp or do i have to be in for a certain time?

How is the Navy bootcamp??

How are women treated?

Any information you can share with me I would greatly appriciate.

Thanks in Advance,

Denise

Answer 1

The most common age for people in bootcamp is 21, at age 23 you are well within the acceptable age range. When i went thru bootcamp we had a guy that was 30, we called him pops naturally. The money they give you for college is most commonly used after your enlistment is finished, however people that are on shore duty can easily go to college at night.Bootcamp is not bad at all, they are training you to be a part of a unit, they want you physically fit, they want you used to the chain of command, they want you to eat a balanced diet. Teamwork is the key thing. Women are treated very well, in the old days it used to be a mans world in the navy, now however women can be stationed onboard combatant vessels. Life on bas is good, you are surrounded by peoplpe with whom you have everything in common. Camaraderie is a big plus. If you are interested in being an officer and you will have your associates check with a recruiter, the navy might put you the rest of the way thru in an rotc program. You would be obligated for 6 years rather than 4. The perks are better for an officer and the recruit training (boot camp) is different as well. If you have any more questions just let me know :)

Answer 2

Denise, you are not too old to join the military, nor will you be the oldest one there.

Unfortunately, I can't answer the USN or USAF questions about Basic, since I'm Army, but all branches treat women the same. If there is an EO complaint, it will be investigation. Sexual harassment is not tolerated. You will be expected to do your job.

Check out the loan repayment program that the branches have to offer. I'm not aware of either the USN or the USAF offering that program/bonus, but I may be mistaken. I know that the Army will start making payments after you have completed Basic, and that the loan cannot be in default when you join.

Good luck and thanks for thinking of the military.

Answer 3

You're definitely not too old. I was 26 when I joined and there were 3 guys in my platoon older than me.

Navy boot camp is not hard from what I have heard. The AF is the easiest.

Ask the recruiter about the current education benefits. Last I heard they were pretty good and it should definitely pay for your last two years at a university.

Answer 4

You're good. The cut-off age is much higher than that. While you will be one of the older people there, it won't be weird. It's not like you're in your 30s.

I can't tell you about Navy boot camp, but Marine boot camp is a *****.

Out of the services, if you want an easy ride, go navy or air force. If you want a challenge, go to the Marines.

Answer 5

First off I know you are not to old to join the AF because I am in the AF. Yes they will pay for most if not all but the catch is you have to put so much in for your first year so you won't be able to use it till then. Woman are treated just as men are.

Answer 6

You are not too old to join. You won't be the oldest. I recommend the Air Force, it is the easiest physically and the most challenging mentally. You would have to ask the recruit about your educational benefit. Depending upon what area you go into ( AFSC ), there is much education offered to do your job.

Answer 7

At 23, you can still join the military and could continue your college by attending night classes.

Answer 8

You are not too old to join the military and the branches that you want to join treat the women better then the marines treat them

Answer 9

Just the ramblings of an old man but if you were mine I would suggest you looking for advice and information from family, friends and God. However, you are not and as such I offer the following. I hope the best for you in whatever you chose.

Age

One would think that age would be a simple category. One is old enough, or too old, right? Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work that way. By federal law (10 U.S.C., 510), the minimum age for enlistment in the United States Military is 17 (with parental consent) and the maximum age is 35. This is to ensure than anyone who enlists on active duty can be eligible for retirement (20 years of service) at the mandatory age of 55 (60 in some cases). However, DOD policy allows the individual services to specify the maximum age of enlistment based upon their own unique requirements. The individual services have set the following maximum ages for non-prior service enlistment:


Active Army - 42
Army Reserves - 42
Active Air Force - 27
Air Force Reserve - 34
Active Navy - 34
Naval Reserves - 39
Active Marines - 28
Marine Corps Reserve - 29
Active and Reserve Coast Guard - 27

However, prior service enlistees can receive an "age waiver." In most cases, the amount of age that can be waived depends upon the amount of time the individual previously spent in the military. For example, let's say that an individual has four years of credible military service in the Marine Corps and wants to join the Air Force. The Air Force could waive the individual's maximum enlistment age to age 31 (Maximum age of 27 for the Air Force, plus four years credible service in the Marines). For the Marine Corps, the maximum age of enlistment for prior service is 32, after computing the prior-service age adjustment.

. If you are really taking advice, I would suggest The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. If one took FARSI or Chinese they could step right into the CIA or NSA as a GS12 or GS13, one could not ask for more. (Upon competition of the School, you are given the equivalent of an Associate Degree).

Branch of the Military. You don’t want to ask us what you want look at what it is you want and what kind of training “you” want for yourself.

I never lie so you and others might not like what I am going to say here, but what they heck? Wait I always wanted to say this: “You can’t handle the truth”! Cool huh?

I live near the Norfolk Naval Base (Worlds Largest Naval Base) and laugh each time a ship goes to sea. All the Navy wives get on TV crying expressing horror at being left alone for six months, fearing their love one might be injured, mad because they do not know how they are going to make it for six months. I know our Navy went to sea in World War I and II and Korea for years! At that time, they might actually be killed in combat. My cousin served on a carrier off the coast of Viet Nam and complains to this day, what he went through. You know how rough it is have three hot meals a day, a clean warm bunk, ice cream games and hot showers. Since the conception of the all volunteer military cruise are a maximum of a year but usually six months. What can you or any one say?

I took my rest and recuperation (r & r) at Da Nang Air Force Base on the South China Sea, and was amazed and enjoyed the movie theaters, sidewalks, pools and A/C. It is no different today. Most of the Air Force personnel are in the rear at that base if working in operations they get the flight in the air, go to a fast food establishment, the pool or movies. From time to time, a pilot might be shot at and even shot down, but the majority of the time is safe and requires brains and skill.

The Army, what can anyone say? God Help us. The Army has again lowered the standards and wonders why a soldier is being arrested for rape, murder or assault and battery. Talk to the old timers our Special Force are getting the equivalent of what the average World War II soldier received. They run in tennis shoes (I have asked that in combat do they ask for a cease fire and change shoes). Hell, they cannot even be yelled at anymore! The classes are lacking with many of the areas were skills used to be taught now occupied by civilian contractors. (They pull everything from maintenance to operations).


There fore many of the skills, which would help the GI in private life, are gone. Therefore, if you chose the Army try to find a decent career.

The Marines. What can anyone say about a Marine? What ever they say it had better be quietly. Before I can discuss them, I have two scenarios I want to discuss:

The wounded Marine just shook his fist at the hillside and yelled: "Damn it! If you're going to kill me, then kill me, but stop trying to scare me to death!"


April 6, 1865 at Saylors Creek Yankee Troops took a quarter of the Army. When heavy fighting was heard off in the tree lines, officers rode down to see who had not been informed of the surrender. A senior yankee rode up to a Confederate Marine and asked, “Why was he still fighting”? The Confederate yelled back asking, “why, aren’t we winning”?

Look at Viet Nam and Iraqi the Marine get more killed with less casualties then the Army because they train their men. A military has to learn think on their feet and when ordered to jump without question. That is what getting our Army boys killed, not the insurgents, epically not themselves but the Army and their training program. The worse thing about a Marine is once they get out they don’t function as well in the private world; the training drives it out.

God Bless you and the Southern People.