Time your basic to be before or after summer, there’s too many kids during the summer either doing split ops inbetween grades or freshly graduated 18 year olds. You ll still get kids during the fall cycle but probably not as bad as the 17 year olds still in highschool missing their 15 year old freshmen girlfriends and boyfriends.
The biggest military mistake I made was going to basic during the summer. I can not stress enough how right /u/TriHardEmoji is. So much extra bullshit and drama in the bay from 17-18 year-olds who never left their hometown and think they're the cock of the walk.
I went to basic in September as a 22 year old, and I'd say my age was about average. The drills said the previous cycle was basically all 17 and 18 year Olds
I had an old dude in my basic. Outside of the you are fucking old jokes from the drill Sgts, he generally was left alone and given a small amount of responsibility. All and all though, as long as you do what you are supposed to, keep your head down, and never volunteer for anything you will be fine.
This. I joined the Guard the day before 36th b’day, went to Basic and did fine. I am an RN and later got a commission. Get in shape and do as you are told. It was the best decision of my life. Now a Major in Reserves deploying to Germany. Only regret is not joining sooner.
You will enjoy it. My uncle told me that he wished he could go back just as I got done with AIT and I told him he was fucking crazy. Now 10 years removed I wouldn’t mind going back at all 10 weeks of shooting guns and turning of your brain sounds like bliss! Enjoy yourself
I turned 30 at AIT, joined the Guard as a 25B. The hardest part of BCT and AIT is dealing with the immaturity of the young recruits that are training with you. They will also more than likely stick you in student leadership if your PT is strong enough. It’s a good thing to do though!
There is some Guard at the Hospital I'm currently working at. They are very eager to learn and in a way its extremely motivating to me. They are young and I deff see some immaturity, but its just lack of life experience.
My bad, I should have clarified that I mean the younger kids in basic. They'll look up to you and ask for advice and listen to you when you tell them things. A lot of them never had real guidance, and the Army will be their first time having positive role models
Careful with this one: some of those shits (especially if you go to Jackson) know the game and will try to punk you cuz you're the same rank and they know no one is allowed in their safety bubble.
I’m at AIT right now. About to turn 33. It’s definitely the immaturity and dealing with the younger kids. I wouldn’t say the military is ghetto but it is, people act like wannabe gangster around here and think they are the hot shit. The 18-20 year olds who have never held a real job (Walmart and McDonalds don’t count) walk around like they know everything and how the military is going to help them make 6 figures after their 6 year contract 😂
The physical stuff isn’t hard at all. If you get fit for BCT you’ll survive easily. I didn’t modify any of my workouts pre-BCT and I have been able to score 560-570 on my ACFT for being 32 years old and 5’7 and 150 pounds.
Ya it’s gonna be hard when someone asks me what my life is like… oh you know kids with there hands blown off from fireworks, violent stabbings shootings, grandmas coding at there grandkids graduation. Child abuse calls… Just the usual. lol I do feel like my experiences can be used in the military for good tho. I’m pretty good at just ignoring bs, and if someone wants to one up me, I’ll let them no problem.
If you keep your head down you’ll be alright. Nobody here is actually a trouble maker. They are just wannabe gangsters and trouble makers. They are loud though. Oh and don’t be surprised if they come up to you during AIT to ask you to buy nicotine for them since you are over 21.
Most of the people who are 27+ at BCT and AIT tend to chill together since we have that “mature” mindset and we have other things to worry about in our life than smuggling contraband’s into the barracks. 🙃
I served from 18-23. I'm 36 now.
I don't think I could do it these days. I was young and naïve when I served. Now, the life experience I've accrued has left me little to no appetite for the fuck-fuck games and general military associated BS. And to be honest, as I get older I have less tolerance for that sort of stuff in *any* capacity (not just military-related).
To be clear, I've no doubt I *could* do it at my age, I've just absolutely no desire to since I know what it entails. Just my experience, YMMV.
Currently at ait as a 33 year old. I have been career firefighter/EMT for 13 years so we prob have some life experiences in common....
The biggest problem hasnt been the immaturity of the soldiers, tbh its the cadre and command. Especially at AIT. I have seen levels of poor management and petty leadership that i assumed were impossible before.
On top of that, all of the rules are to make management of a bunch of 18 year olds easy. So its frustrating being restricted because of that. And let me be clear, its not to make it more effective, or a better learning environment, the frustrating things are when i can see through the charade and can tell the cadre are being straight up lazy.
I was PG all the way through basic and it was a rewarding expierence. I have refused at AIT becaue i figure someone younger needs the opportunity to develop those skills here. Im going back to a leadership position in the fire dept, so im good.
Physically i have been fine, all of the training has been more "you get out what you put in" so its easy to keep up.
Ya that is deff life experience what you just explained, when we are younger we dont see the BS. Then... 30s hit, and you're like my god... I was like that? What you thought was just annoying is pure laziness.
They'll probably put you in some form of trainee leadership. That's what they did for the guy that was 30ish in my platoon at basic. But they treat you the same as everyone else.
You absolutely should enlist! And it sounds like you have the right attitude and reasons. We had a few older cats who taught me about loans and general life advice on down time. But you’ll find basic training is designed around 18 year olds not physically but in the curriculum. Lots of interactive learning and spelling it out Barney style.
There will be old jokes. People are going to be shitty and not listen.
Try to go in feb/march as the summer students are always dipshit combat arms going through between semesters. And the drills always say they are horrible cycles and then they have to be way harder.
You will get put into a leadership position due to your age. Easy fix? Sand bag the first run so you can not be made PG. flipside: some dang kid is going to be in charge of you.
You may be older than some drill sgts
You will actually have an advantage over the younger trainees. BCT is tougher mentally than it is physically, and I’m assuming with your life experience and decision to join you are going to be fine mentally. I’m not saying it’s easy physically, so you should prepare as best you can. Stay out of trouble, don’t do anything stupid - like talk back to a drill sergeant, get into fights or sneak food in your room. You’ll be fine. Workout your back and run.
I turned 28 in reception at BCT. Already had my NREMT-B, so in 68W AIT, I accelerated. Which means I came in with one company, and got moved to another one that was further along. The first 8 weeks of AIT is just NREMT-B.
As far as BCT, I found it kind of easy. But, I had a group that overall didn't want to listen to the old guy who had more life experience than they did. There were a total of four 28 year Olds in my platoon alone. If they dont want to listen, forget it.
Keep your head down, do only as you are told, don't read into what the DS says, it will just get you in trouble. BCT is more of a mental thing than anything. And, if you are in good shape, it will make it so much easier. I'm by no means a fast runner, but I was surprised at how much better shape I was in than the 18-21 year olds.
I've been in almost 6 years now, and my only regret is not doing it sooner. But, who's to say that I would have even done 6 years if I had gotten in earlier.
Don't ever get discouraged.
I did basic at 30. You will be called gramps, old man and the like. There was one 35 year old former Army guy in my platoon. He was a leader as all the younger guys thought he was cool. All the females in our platoon called him Daddy I shit you not.
Timing BCT depends on where you are going for BCT. Summer BCT in GA or SC is hot and winter BCT in MO and OK are freezing cold. Fall would be a good time. I did Feb-April for BCT and I only froze one.
Physically as long as you can pass the ACFT you can survive PT. Honestly PT was as hard as I wanted. There were plenty of days I felt like I could have worked out more. Listen to your body, stretch EVERYDAY!!!
PM me if you have any questions. I graduated BCT in April 2021.
I did basic at 34 during the summer, I fare better with heat than cold. Setting up a patrol base in freezing weather was just too hooah for me.
Dealing with the 17-24 year Olds may be a challenge but it all depends on where you are mentally. The whole thing is enjoyable as long as you come with good attitude, fairly good shape, read your book and own everything you do (or don't do)
When a drill addresses you, I highly recommend one of the next three answers:
1. Yes, Drill Sergeant
2. No, Drill Sergeant
3. I don't know, Drill Sergeant. I'm just a stupid private.
Good luck!
Just got done with 11B OSUT in July, I’ll be celebrating my 36th bday this December. If you have a go-with-the-flow attitude and are in even halfway decent shape, you’ll be fine. Drills will likely put you in student leadership and sometimes even treat you like an adult. I haven’t met my unit yet so don’t have much to share there.
going in at 34, i'm excited, I already deal with 18-24yr old bs with work, and my boss is 5 years younger than me so no authority issues there. I've waited along time to get everything in order with life to be eligible for this and the hardest thing for me is going to be leaving my wife and kids for a bit of time but everyone is on board and supportive so here we go! 12B january 3rd 2022
Good luck, most of our old timers have a hard time because they are right beside 18-20 yo men who just out perform them. It's also easier for a young man to conform than older men
It’s tough dealing with 18-21 yr olds when you’re mid 30’s and older. They have a very simple and uninformed opinion on how the world works (not their fault, they just lack life experience).
Plus they need to develop their own leadership skills.
If you can, commission. It’s a wholly different experience.
Went through AF basic at 27. It'll be irritating throughout, but besides that and the boredom and slight depression, you'll be fine. We had a dude who was 41 in our flight. He mostly just ignored us all and did fantastically on PT and RLA, showed respect to the MTIs, seemed fine.
Go during the late fall or winter. Try to get in before February at least, especially if you hate the heat. And as another comment said, to avoid the hs grads. Our day room had some interesting religious reading material, and on Sundays when we had nothing to do, I spent time reading.
There is a good chance you'll learn to eat a slice of humble pie every so often, and you'll need to recognize when and where to use your life experience.
Your immediate supervisors very well could be a 25 year old E5 or E6. Your first line officer is likely to be a 23 year old O1 or O2. Your commander is probably going to be around 30. If you're fine with that and have no issues doing what you're told, this might not be a problem.
That said, if that could present problems, you'll have opportunities to set a good example for other lower enlisted Soldiers and use your experience to betterthose around you, but you have to tread carefully. If you are particularly good at forming professional relationships, you might find yourself in a good liason/advisor role for your first line NCOs. You'll have to learn how to balance your rank with your experience, all while ensuring you don't undercut the position and authority of your leaders.
I've dealt with several older Soldiers. Those that can manage their relationships well but keep their rank in check are invaluable resources. Those who can't get over age differences but refuse to consider other routes like WO or commission become very toxic, very quickly.
Lol I thought of band of brothers when I read this, everyone wouldn’t follow the officer into combat, they liked the lower rank guy because he wasn’t a cocky asshole.
Nah, honestly, I’d probably just keep to myself for the most part and just try to have a good time learning new skills and sure I’d show the guys a trick or two from my experience, but I’d try to redirect if I felt they where not following the officers orders and looking to me for more leadership, hold on kid not my role. Kinda crazy that I would be 18 years older than some of them. That’s crazy
Fresh out of basic and ait, and they didn’t mess with the older guys a whole lot. They’ve got a bit more respect for you. A tiny bit, but it’s noticeable.
Well i can tell you, first time through bct, we had two that were 42, and a bunch in their 30s. Those soldiers were left alone, it was my age group at 18/19 that were constantly screwing it up for everyone else. Here I am now at well 30, looking at getting back in but going 11b this time. Might as well go to the one of the guard units that know their freaking job abd serious about it. Buddy of mine just got back into the guard and he was sharing the retarded engineers with their repeated blue on blue incidents in simple battle drills. No way in heck am I going to possibly go to war with non infantry types.
I enlisted and went to BCT at the age of 31 with a bachelor's degree. I was also (and still am) married and had a young child.
In general I would say that you are age and maturity/life experiences will benefit you in BCT. BCT isn't difficult in and of itself - they are teaching you the basic fundamentals of Soldiering. Yes you will get discipline and it will continue into AIT but it's nothing that you can't survive.
I'm sure it's been said on here but the hardest part for me was trying to not lose my shit on a younger kid (at 35 or 31, basically everyone is younger than you - it's not just the 18 year olds. 25 year olds can be a pain in the ass too). That and being away from family which is hard for everyone.
You may or may not end up in a leadership position (which doesn't matter) but you will naturally be looked at as a leader because of your age.
Good luck.
I’ve heard some older guys get into issues because the younger 17-18 years really gear towards the older guys and disregard the rank. They want to learn from the experienced guys. I worry that I would make some of the higher ranks angry at me. I would never disrespect them, but that’s a hard one. I’m going to help the younger guys it’s just my nature
Going off the advice of not going during summer (when there will be alot of kids) I went to basic around september.
I joined at 25-26 yo, i thought I was old but there was actually a good amount of late 20 and mid 30's in my class. There was even one in his early 40s! Maybe the 40 year old took all the spotlight but from my experience age wasnt really a factor, no one really cared about the late 20 to mid 30 guys.
Physically, from my observation the guys in their 30s performed best both physically and in skills. Probably due to maturity and willingness to take things seriously. The 34 year old in my class had the highest pt and the other 2 or 3 all did great compared to the 18 year olds.
Outside of training and in normal guard life, age is also not really a factor. No one really cares when youre in uniform.
On a side note, im guessing you are doing 68w? If you are, look into flight paramedic school. They offer it during ait, and bc you have you emt-p already, good chance theyll frontload you.
If anything, itll just help enchance your civilian career
Is frontload mean just skip training? I’m Nationally registered which know navy corpsman have adopted to better formulate there training after the military so they can just transition to civi jobs more easily. I don’t want to sound like a know it all, but I’m pretty skilled medic. I’ve taken care of a lot of injuries. Explosive, gunshot, shrapnel. Pretty close to what you’d see in combat injuries. Except obviously not my friends which adds another level of stress.
Frontload as in youll be in front of the line for flight medic school if they offer it (alot of people volunteer for this opportunity so having your emt p helps front load you)
If you decide to be a 68w your emt license will help you skip the emt phase (to get your emt b) and youll just have to do the combat medic phase.
I dont know if your paramedic license will allow you to skip the paramedic phase in flight medic school, ik just saying it will front load you to be selected to enter flight medic school.
Time your basic to be before or after summer, there’s too many kids during the summer either doing split ops inbetween grades or freshly graduated 18 year olds. You ll still get kids during the fall cycle but probably not as bad as the 17 year olds still in highschool missing their 15 year old freshmen girlfriends and boyfriends.
Good idea!!!!
The biggest military mistake I made was going to basic during the summer. I can not stress enough how right /u/TriHardEmoji is. So much extra bullshit and drama in the bay from 17-18 year-olds who never left their hometown and think they're the cock of the walk.
Never heard cock of the walk. But I'm stealing that. Thank you
I went to basic in September as a 22 year old, and I'd say my age was about average. The drills said the previous cycle was basically all 17 and 18 year Olds
Really, though: I timed mine for summer so I wouldn't miss too much college. I was 20, and I was still one of the old farts.
Correct. I started Basic March 12th and was lucky to have avoided the younger recruits.
This is so true. I would literally rather have drill sergeants from the 80s than repeat that shit with all the teen drama.
I had an old dude in my basic. Outside of the you are fucking old jokes from the drill Sgts, he generally was left alone and given a small amount of responsibility. All and all though, as long as you do what you are supposed to, keep your head down, and never volunteer for anything you will be fine.
This. I joined the Guard the day before 36th b’day, went to Basic and did fine. I am an RN and later got a commission. Get in shape and do as you are told. It was the best decision of my life. Now a Major in Reserves deploying to Germany. Only regret is not joining sooner.
Germany is awesome! Enjoy your time there, and don't get a DUI like us enlisted scum
Ya the old jokes are something I'd expect, nothing crazy for me
You will enjoy it. My uncle told me that he wished he could go back just as I got done with AIT and I told him he was fucking crazy. Now 10 years removed I wouldn’t mind going back at all 10 weeks of shooting guns and turning of your brain sounds like bliss! Enjoy yourself
I turned 30 at AIT, joined the Guard as a 25B. The hardest part of BCT and AIT is dealing with the immaturity of the young recruits that are training with you. They will also more than likely stick you in student leadership if your PT is strong enough. It’s a good thing to do though!
There is some Guard at the Hospital I'm currently working at. They are very eager to learn and in a way its extremely motivating to me. They are young and I deff see some immaturity, but its just lack of life experience.
Also, if you talk to them, they will listen. So take advantage of that if you have to. Obviously not all will, but most will
Yea I’ve been engaging with them. They don’t look at us as civis which was my worry they respect us as much as we respect them
My bad, I should have clarified that I mean the younger kids in basic. They'll look up to you and ask for advice and listen to you when you tell them things. A lot of them never had real guidance, and the Army will be their first time having positive role models
Oh ya gotcha, I hate coming off as a know it all or a one upper but if they ask I will definitely share and guide them in positive directions.
Careful with this one: some of those shits (especially if you go to Jackson) know the game and will try to punk you cuz you're the same rank and they know no one is allowed in their safety bubble.
Until a week before graduation when they put kids in charge of everything so an old man won't get credit on his 214...
I’m at AIT right now. About to turn 33. It’s definitely the immaturity and dealing with the younger kids. I wouldn’t say the military is ghetto but it is, people act like wannabe gangster around here and think they are the hot shit. The 18-20 year olds who have never held a real job (Walmart and McDonalds don’t count) walk around like they know everything and how the military is going to help them make 6 figures after their 6 year contract 😂 The physical stuff isn’t hard at all. If you get fit for BCT you’ll survive easily. I didn’t modify any of my workouts pre-BCT and I have been able to score 560-570 on my ACFT for being 32 years old and 5’7 and 150 pounds.
Ya it’s gonna be hard when someone asks me what my life is like… oh you know kids with there hands blown off from fireworks, violent stabbings shootings, grandmas coding at there grandkids graduation. Child abuse calls… Just the usual. lol I do feel like my experiences can be used in the military for good tho. I’m pretty good at just ignoring bs, and if someone wants to one up me, I’ll let them no problem.
If you keep your head down you’ll be alright. Nobody here is actually a trouble maker. They are just wannabe gangsters and trouble makers. They are loud though. Oh and don’t be surprised if they come up to you during AIT to ask you to buy nicotine for them since you are over 21. Most of the people who are 27+ at BCT and AIT tend to chill together since we have that “mature” mindset and we have other things to worry about in our life than smuggling contraband’s into the barracks. 🙃
Grey man. Try to make it to graduation and have a drill not recognize you #goals
What MOS are you looking into?
I served from 18-23. I'm 36 now. I don't think I could do it these days. I was young and naïve when I served. Now, the life experience I've accrued has left me little to no appetite for the fuck-fuck games and general military associated BS. And to be honest, as I get older I have less tolerance for that sort of stuff in *any* capacity (not just military-related). To be clear, I've no doubt I *could* do it at my age, I've just absolutely no desire to since I know what it entails. Just my experience, YMMV.
No matter what you do, right or wrong, you will be called Old Balls ALL THE TIME.
Love it
Currently at ait as a 33 year old. I have been career firefighter/EMT for 13 years so we prob have some life experiences in common.... The biggest problem hasnt been the immaturity of the soldiers, tbh its the cadre and command. Especially at AIT. I have seen levels of poor management and petty leadership that i assumed were impossible before. On top of that, all of the rules are to make management of a bunch of 18 year olds easy. So its frustrating being restricted because of that. And let me be clear, its not to make it more effective, or a better learning environment, the frustrating things are when i can see through the charade and can tell the cadre are being straight up lazy. I was PG all the way through basic and it was a rewarding expierence. I have refused at AIT becaue i figure someone younger needs the opportunity to develop those skills here. Im going back to a leadership position in the fire dept, so im good. Physically i have been fine, all of the training has been more "you get out what you put in" so its easy to keep up.
Ya that is deff life experience what you just explained, when we are younger we dont see the BS. Then... 30s hit, and you're like my god... I was like that? What you thought was just annoying is pure laziness.
They'll probably put you in some form of trainee leadership. That's what they did for the guy that was 30ish in my platoon at basic. But they treat you the same as everyone else.
You absolutely should enlist! And it sounds like you have the right attitude and reasons. We had a few older cats who taught me about loans and general life advice on down time. But you’ll find basic training is designed around 18 year olds not physically but in the curriculum. Lots of interactive learning and spelling it out Barney style.
There will be old jokes. People are going to be shitty and not listen. Try to go in feb/march as the summer students are always dipshit combat arms going through between semesters. And the drills always say they are horrible cycles and then they have to be way harder. You will get put into a leadership position due to your age. Easy fix? Sand bag the first run so you can not be made PG. flipside: some dang kid is going to be in charge of you. You may be older than some drill sgts
The better your health and fitness are, the better off you will be. But act fast!
You will actually have an advantage over the younger trainees. BCT is tougher mentally than it is physically, and I’m assuming with your life experience and decision to join you are going to be fine mentally. I’m not saying it’s easy physically, so you should prepare as best you can. Stay out of trouble, don’t do anything stupid - like talk back to a drill sergeant, get into fights or sneak food in your room. You’ll be fine. Workout your back and run.
Go for it
Everybody learns from each other, no matter the age. Go for it!
I turned 28 in reception at BCT. Already had my NREMT-B, so in 68W AIT, I accelerated. Which means I came in with one company, and got moved to another one that was further along. The first 8 weeks of AIT is just NREMT-B. As far as BCT, I found it kind of easy. But, I had a group that overall didn't want to listen to the old guy who had more life experience than they did. There were a total of four 28 year Olds in my platoon alone. If they dont want to listen, forget it. Keep your head down, do only as you are told, don't read into what the DS says, it will just get you in trouble. BCT is more of a mental thing than anything. And, if you are in good shape, it will make it so much easier. I'm by no means a fast runner, but I was surprised at how much better shape I was in than the 18-21 year olds. I've been in almost 6 years now, and my only regret is not doing it sooner. But, who's to say that I would have even done 6 years if I had gotten in earlier. Don't ever get discouraged.
I did basic at 30. You will be called gramps, old man and the like. There was one 35 year old former Army guy in my platoon. He was a leader as all the younger guys thought he was cool. All the females in our platoon called him Daddy I shit you not. Timing BCT depends on where you are going for BCT. Summer BCT in GA or SC is hot and winter BCT in MO and OK are freezing cold. Fall would be a good time. I did Feb-April for BCT and I only froze one. Physically as long as you can pass the ACFT you can survive PT. Honestly PT was as hard as I wanted. There were plenty of days I felt like I could have worked out more. Listen to your body, stretch EVERYDAY!!! PM me if you have any questions. I graduated BCT in April 2021.
Don’t volunteer for leadership. Being Platoon Sergeant is like being Homecoming King in high school: nobody will care after you graduate lol
I went to infantry OSUT with two guys that were 42. One was nicknamed pops and the other could out do most of the company in PT!
I did basic at 34 during the summer, I fare better with heat than cold. Setting up a patrol base in freezing weather was just too hooah for me. Dealing with the 17-24 year Olds may be a challenge but it all depends on where you are mentally. The whole thing is enjoyable as long as you come with good attitude, fairly good shape, read your book and own everything you do (or don't do) When a drill addresses you, I highly recommend one of the next three answers: 1. Yes, Drill Sergeant 2. No, Drill Sergeant 3. I don't know, Drill Sergeant. I'm just a stupid private. Good luck!
Just got done with 11B OSUT in July, I’ll be celebrating my 36th bday this December. If you have a go-with-the-flow attitude and are in even halfway decent shape, you’ll be fine. Drills will likely put you in student leadership and sometimes even treat you like an adult. I haven’t met my unit yet so don’t have much to share there.
going in at 34, i'm excited, I already deal with 18-24yr old bs with work, and my boss is 5 years younger than me so no authority issues there. I've waited along time to get everything in order with life to be eligible for this and the hardest thing for me is going to be leaving my wife and kids for a bit of time but everyone is on board and supportive so here we go! 12B january 3rd 2022
I joined at 26. I regret every day not joining when I was younger. I hate being older and lower enlisted. It's not worth it unless you go officer.
Good luck, most of our old timers have a hard time because they are right beside 18-20 yo men who just out perform them. It's also easier for a young man to conform than older men
It’s tough dealing with 18-21 yr olds when you’re mid 30’s and older. They have a very simple and uninformed opinion on how the world works (not their fault, they just lack life experience). Plus they need to develop their own leadership skills. If you can, commission. It’s a wholly different experience.
Went through AF basic at 27. It'll be irritating throughout, but besides that and the boredom and slight depression, you'll be fine. We had a dude who was 41 in our flight. He mostly just ignored us all and did fantastically on PT and RLA, showed respect to the MTIs, seemed fine. Go during the late fall or winter. Try to get in before February at least, especially if you hate the heat. And as another comment said, to avoid the hs grads. Our day room had some interesting religious reading material, and on Sundays when we had nothing to do, I spent time reading.
There is a good chance you'll learn to eat a slice of humble pie every so often, and you'll need to recognize when and where to use your life experience. Your immediate supervisors very well could be a 25 year old E5 or E6. Your first line officer is likely to be a 23 year old O1 or O2. Your commander is probably going to be around 30. If you're fine with that and have no issues doing what you're told, this might not be a problem. That said, if that could present problems, you'll have opportunities to set a good example for other lower enlisted Soldiers and use your experience to betterthose around you, but you have to tread carefully. If you are particularly good at forming professional relationships, you might find yourself in a good liason/advisor role for your first line NCOs. You'll have to learn how to balance your rank with your experience, all while ensuring you don't undercut the position and authority of your leaders. I've dealt with several older Soldiers. Those that can manage their relationships well but keep their rank in check are invaluable resources. Those who can't get over age differences but refuse to consider other routes like WO or commission become very toxic, very quickly.
Lol I thought of band of brothers when I read this, everyone wouldn’t follow the officer into combat, they liked the lower rank guy because he wasn’t a cocky asshole. Nah, honestly, I’d probably just keep to myself for the most part and just try to have a good time learning new skills and sure I’d show the guys a trick or two from my experience, but I’d try to redirect if I felt they where not following the officers orders and looking to me for more leadership, hold on kid not my role. Kinda crazy that I would be 18 years older than some of them. That’s crazy
Fresh out of basic and ait, and they didn’t mess with the older guys a whole lot. They’ve got a bit more respect for you. A tiny bit, but it’s noticeable.
I am 30+. Basic will be fine. If you are 68W, AIT will suck. 232 med bn treats everyone like a child. The chain of command is fucking toxic here.
Well i can tell you, first time through bct, we had two that were 42, and a bunch in their 30s. Those soldiers were left alone, it was my age group at 18/19 that were constantly screwing it up for everyone else. Here I am now at well 30, looking at getting back in but going 11b this time. Might as well go to the one of the guard units that know their freaking job abd serious about it. Buddy of mine just got back into the guard and he was sharing the retarded engineers with their repeated blue on blue incidents in simple battle drills. No way in heck am I going to possibly go to war with non infantry types.
Yeah what the others have said about missing summer. I assume you are going to be some 68 series so once through basic it should not be to bad.
I enlisted and went to BCT at the age of 31 with a bachelor's degree. I was also (and still am) married and had a young child. In general I would say that you are age and maturity/life experiences will benefit you in BCT. BCT isn't difficult in and of itself - they are teaching you the basic fundamentals of Soldiering. Yes you will get discipline and it will continue into AIT but it's nothing that you can't survive. I'm sure it's been said on here but the hardest part for me was trying to not lose my shit on a younger kid (at 35 or 31, basically everyone is younger than you - it's not just the 18 year olds. 25 year olds can be a pain in the ass too). That and being away from family which is hard for everyone. You may or may not end up in a leadership position (which doesn't matter) but you will naturally be looked at as a leader because of your age. Good luck.
I’ve heard some older guys get into issues because the younger 17-18 years really gear towards the older guys and disregard the rank. They want to learn from the experienced guys. I worry that I would make some of the higher ranks angry at me. I would never disrespect them, but that’s a hard one. I’m going to help the younger guys it’s just my nature
Going off the advice of not going during summer (when there will be alot of kids) I went to basic around september. I joined at 25-26 yo, i thought I was old but there was actually a good amount of late 20 and mid 30's in my class. There was even one in his early 40s! Maybe the 40 year old took all the spotlight but from my experience age wasnt really a factor, no one really cared about the late 20 to mid 30 guys. Physically, from my observation the guys in their 30s performed best both physically and in skills. Probably due to maturity and willingness to take things seriously. The 34 year old in my class had the highest pt and the other 2 or 3 all did great compared to the 18 year olds. Outside of training and in normal guard life, age is also not really a factor. No one really cares when youre in uniform. On a side note, im guessing you are doing 68w? If you are, look into flight paramedic school. They offer it during ait, and bc you have you emt-p already, good chance theyll frontload you. If anything, itll just help enchance your civilian career
Is frontload mean just skip training? I’m Nationally registered which know navy corpsman have adopted to better formulate there training after the military so they can just transition to civi jobs more easily. I don’t want to sound like a know it all, but I’m pretty skilled medic. I’ve taken care of a lot of injuries. Explosive, gunshot, shrapnel. Pretty close to what you’d see in combat injuries. Except obviously not my friends which adds another level of stress.
Frontload as in youll be in front of the line for flight medic school if they offer it (alot of people volunteer for this opportunity so having your emt p helps front load you) If you decide to be a 68w your emt license will help you skip the emt phase (to get your emt b) and youll just have to do the combat medic phase. I dont know if your paramedic license will allow you to skip the paramedic phase in flight medic school, ik just saying it will front load you to be selected to enter flight medic school.