Seems like they're having trouble recruiting people to serve as America launches headlong into GWOT 2.0 with no plan. It makes sense that people aren't signing up: it's a very unpopular war that was started by assassinating leaders during peace talks and bombing an elementary school, and it's not one they're winning.
And it's also a war with no clear benefit to Americans, which Marco Rubio admitted they were dragged into by Israel.
But I think this might be a cope that is not well researched. How would one explain that all of this is quite literally not true and military recruitment is significantly higher under this administration? The actual reality is this policy just aligns with other branches and divisions of the military such as the Air Force. Not everything is explained by IDS. With all due respect, this seems like a reflexive anti-American position because it is so laughably wrong. Young men are much more likely to join under the current administration and I think it is pretty obvious. Also, the idea that there was no plan is just divorced from reality. People might not agree with the plan but this idea they didn't know what they were getting into is a sophomoric read, to be honest.
I think smart people do NOT want to enlist while Trump is Commander in Chief and Hegseth is in charge of the Military. The way the crew of the USS Ford have been treated is despicable.
Well, I'm old enough to remember many "peace talks" go to eternity wit absolutely zero results. In many countries around the world. Just to create the argument.
Up from 35 years. Average age is currently 22, though.
Air Force and Space force went to 42 years back in 2023. The Navy went to 42 years in early 2026.
Maximum age for the Marines remains 28 years.
With high youth unemployment [1], it ought to be easier to recruit.
The land war is getting closer. The Army's 82nd Airborne has been sent towards Iran. Possibly to take Kharg Island, one of the very few objectives for which an airdrop might possibly make sense.[1] Possibly. 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force is already on the way.
When I joined the army as an infantryman back in the early 2000s there were kids who couldn’t start basic training because they weren’t capable of doing 6 pushups. 6.
I believe at the time they were allowing 38 year olds to join for the first time which seemed crazy to me. Now that I’m in my early 40s I can’t imagine going back in
The US military is in the process of changing fitness standards, mostly for ideological reasons [0]. Most enlisted I’ve spoken to consider the new tests harder, especially for women, but it isn’t clear cut and implementation across services has been weird.
Rumor is they’re also cracking down on (specifically medical, not religious) shaving waviers again, probably because some minorities have a skin condition that makes regular shaving painful.
So it’s a bit of a conundrum! They obviously want more enlisted so they can do more wars in more places, but they also are adding disincentives for female or nonwhite enlisted.
> “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” he said. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon leading commands around the country and the world.”
“It’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are,” he continued.
> “I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape, or in a combat unit with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men” Hegseth said.
What about what he said is incorrect? I don't know, maybe you are not familiar with the U.S. military. You can many videos produced by the military under Biden of even significantly overweight drill instructors in the Marine Corps, for instance. I don't know if this is part of the "healthy at any size" thing or what.
I went into the armed forces recruiting office a year or two ago for Air Force Cyber and the adjacent Army and Navy recruiters were complaining that no one wanted to join while everyone was asking for Air Force when the Air Force recruiter was out for most of the year because he had met his quotas. Somehow I ended up in the Navy office and suffice to say I left the office with a big no to the Navy man no matter how much he tried to persuade me with promises of seeing the world. I have the internet for that thank you.
All my vet friends said to reconsider and I wisely followed their advice.
So I know you're making a joke/statement about how the post-9/11 volunteers got royally screwed over and are (understandably) disillusioned with war but I just wanted to add something here.
This change increases maximum enlistment age. Maximum reenlistment age is something else entirely. To reenlist, you need to be able to complete 20 years of service by age 62. So if you joined at 18 and did 8 years then you can technically rennlist up to age 50. Not that you would or should but you can.
Presumably a 42 year old who can meet the fitness tests will be a better candidate than a 25 year old who cannot. Less 42 year olds will be able to meet the requirements, but the ones that do are what they’re after.
Just before I turned 35 and wanted to change careers, I spent a few days really considering enlisting, but decided I would not do well in an environment where 20 years olds outranked me :)
That's about a 8:30 mile scaling for the fact that its harder when you have to cover more distance... seems pretty reasonable to me as a fitness baseline for the army. I would struggle to make that now but if I had one month to prep I could clear that
I'm not sure if you're saying this as somebody who never runs, or somebody who runs so often that you've forgotten baseline levels. That's a very significant hurdle for most people. I'm in very good shape strength wise, but I'd almost certainly need to do some significant training to meet that since I just never run.
I run for weight loss and general health and at one point had a BMI in the mid-thirties. Back then I was able to make that pace for sessions of 30-40 minutes on most days. I'm not trying to say that it's easy, but I would expect someone in ICE to easily outrun an obese person.
Depends on what you mean by untrained. I think most men who exercise regularly and don't carry a ton of extra bodyweight, even with zero running, could bang out 1.5 miles at 9:40 pace. Couch potatoes, no.
"most men who exercise regularly and don't carry a ton of extra bodyweight, even with zero running" - what's that supposed to mean? How do they exercise then when they are not running?
I don't think many people who don't exercise running can do 1.5 miles in 9:40.
It's 1.5 miles in 14:25, I think most people can handle that. There are plenty of ways to exercise that aren't plain running. Biking, skating, swimming, Tai chi...
How many young men do you know who have never tried marijuana, don't have a tattoo and don't have facial hair? A few years ago it seemed the Army didn't actually want to recruit young men. They loosened the tattoo requirements in 2022. The facial hair requirement remains, but that's less of an imposition since you can grow it back.
They'll have to start taking harassment seriously if they want to recruit more young women.
I don't know about the facial hair. It would take me months to grow back my moustache, and until then I'd look 10 years younger. Given my age that would be pretty ridiculous.
Facial hair prevents the proper functioning of gas masks and other sorts of PPE that sits on your face. Hypothetically speaking, [0] I'd rather deal with looking like a minor than with getting a snoot and face full of something dreadfully toxic.
[0] Hypothetical because I'm way too old to ever be confused with a minor again.
There are limits on gang tattoos, face/neck/hand tattoos and tattoos that promote various hate-based or extremist ideologies (e.g. Nazi or KKK tattoos.) Other than that, tattoos are allowed.
There's a big difference between having older soldiers fighting a defensive war on home soil vs sending them overseas.
In the first scenario, you desperately need a lot of warm bodies, most of what these people would be otherwise doing has been shut down, if someone does perform a critical role in society at large, going back and forth is quick, and the alternative still potentially leads to you losing that person.
In the second scenario, recruiting middle aged people robs your economic/industrial/cultural base of its experience and mid-level leaders who are critical to stuff getting done. Substantial resources are spent training, moving, and sustaining these troops who are not as well suited as younger individuals, on top of the opportunity cost. Besides the people already in the military who have spent years gaining applicable military experience, those additional bodies are liabilities, not assets. An argument can be made for raising mandatory retirement age to keep those skills around, but not for new recruits.
That is why we vote. Canvas your neighborhood. Start local. Go to your city counsel meetings. Tell your representatives what you think or even run for local office. Support the people that won't take us to war. Democracy works when people participate.
Surprised comments are so negative. I think it's a great thing to expand - the military can be an excellent career path, and this allows more people to take it should they choose.
I know many 40 somethings in way better shape than most 20 somethings. And all things considered, if I were someday somehow sent off to war, I'd much rather be surrounded by the former assuming equivalent fitness.
You're absolutely right. I was having trouble understanding why every commenter seems completely wrong about what the Army is, and recruitment numbers, and basically everything else.
I'm arguing with children and people not in the US. Time for bed.
Many people look for purpose and impact in their careers.
If one has impact in the military, what purpose is it serving under current administration and leadership? It's a hard sell from an ethical perspective.
Jobs that feel purposeless is a common complaint but actively serving evil?
Why not just join ICE? The acts you might have to commit there are probably less bad than what the military gets up to, and you don't get sent overseas?
Becoming an E-1 at age 40 isn't a "career path", it's a last resort for somebody who for whatever reason can't make more than $30K/year with the skills they've gained over the last 25 years, and for whom having functioning knees is less important than needing the money.
So they should just age out in poverty and die? Such people exist. To be clear, I'm 1000% against anything resembling a draft, but if an older person wants to, why stop them? A guy in my brother's medical doctor graduation class was 46 years old. Good thing nobody explained to him it was too late and he failed already.
In all seriousness, I do agree about the functioning knees part. But as long as it's voluntary, I don't see the downside.
You referred to joining the US military as an E-1 at the age of 42 as a career path. As an Army brat, I can tell you that it absolutely is not. At that age, it absolutely is a job of last resort.
Are you admonishing people for not being selfish and making decisions which benefit themselves even if it puts them in a position where they can't say no to wronging someone else?
What does this even mean? "If you just ignore the fact that your job is murdering people for no reason, the benefits are great!" Why, exactly, should people "disassociate" that?
You are asking whether someone should not have picked the military career if it was the best fit for them, just because you are personally morally against what they do?
That's why i dont confound the military with the political aparatus's directing of said power. Because the military isn't murdering people for no reason - they are following (in the case of the west) a elected official's policy (which you are very welcome to dislike and oppose, as i do as well).
The negativity isn’t anti-military service. It’s because this specific expansion at this particular time for this current administration is all very ridiculous.
I think most people still are in support of the idea if military service even if that job may entail death.
Yeah just think of how great it would've been to serve in the past decades. Oh wait you'd still end up killing people in the Mideast - half way around the world, and in turn getting killed by them, all in endeavors that ultimately make the world a worse and less safe place. And that certainly includes America.
What will US public do if US in Iran ends up like Russia in Ukraine, recruiting 30K soldiers every month to die in middle east?
Maybe at this time they are having trouble recruiting but just like Russia US has large prison population that may like the offer thar Russian prisoners got: 6 months on the frontlines, if you survive you are free and well paid.
Just today Iran backed militants released a video of drones takings out US helicopters and radars, very similar to what we are used to seeing in Ukraine.
Is US public really ready to support such a thing and endure hardship like the Russians for ideological causes?
It’s fascinating, maybe Trump is right- maybe his supporters are literally tired of winning and want attrition?
I used to think the same but according to the polls I keep seeing the support for war seems to be very strong, up to %100 among MAGA in fact.
They used to say they are against war, against "jewish influence", against this against that but nothing seems to be changing their minds. I thought that this high ranking MAGA dude who resign over "Israel influence concerns" and immediately did rounds on the MAGA-sphere popular outlets doesn't seem to have any influence on the support for the war.
Maybe its some more primal urge to kill and get killed and Trump has control over it?
Thats the general public that apparently doesn't have any grip. You can do whatever you want if tens of millions of people + the billionaires support you till the end when hundreds of millions are mildly annoyed by you.
No one cares about war crimes since years, US itself is allied in this war with credibly alleged war criminals. Besides, there's much to do against drones reaching a base other than locking down the gear in reinforced building and that's not practical when the gear is used which means whatever is on the open gets blown up. The Russians were putting tires on the wings, it did not help much.
We are slowly grinding towards another world war the reason similar to world war 2. Ie an ethno state expanding it's territory while considering it's population as some kind of master race so commiting a genocide against the rest. Ironic the victims have become the perpetuators.
The military has spent decades working on a general aptitude test, called the ASVAB [1]. It's a score up to 99, which is usually what people focus on, but there are also line scores for things like electrical and mechanical. When you join, there'll be a score range you'll need to be in and possibly certain subtest scores.
Generally speaking, you've needed a minimum ASVAB of 31 to join the military. Recruiting stations will have quotas of only accepting so many below 50 so if you're below 50 you may have a more restrictive choice of job, even though you qualify, because you're an undesirable candidate. You take up a valuable sub-50 slot. Oh and below 50 and the Air Force won't even sneeze on you. They don't have to take you. They have more than enough applicants.
This can go the other way too. You can score too high for certain jobs such that they won't want to sign you up because you'll get bored. This is way less common obviously.
Every area of the country is covered by a recruiting station ("RS") for each branch and is staffed by recruiters who usually aren't volunteers (eg most marines on a re-enlistment after an initial 4 years will have to do a Special Duty Assignment--SDA--and will end up as a recruiter or a drill instructor). Each recruiter will generally have a quota to fill of 2 contracts per month.
In some areas (eg Texas) this is no problem at all. Recruiters can be picky. In others, it's way more of a challenge. Anyway, a few years ago the enlistment numbers for the Navy must've gotten so bad that for awhile they were accepting an ASVAB of 10 [1]. 10 is bordering on illiterate.
I say this because raising the maximum enlistment age to 42 is almost as desperate as lowering the ASVAB minimum to 10. I cannot imagine a 42 year old E-! in basic getting yelled at by a 23 year old DI. You won't be doing 20 for the pension. I guess you'll get the GI Bill after 3-4 years. That's something I guess? Most other 42 year olds you'll meet will be near or beyond their 20 years.
In 2004, as a senior in high school, I tried enlisting in the Marines (infantry, what was I thinking based on the year). I scored 99 on the ASVAB (finished way earlier than everyone else) with a high SAT score as well.
Passed all the physicals at Fort Dix. I was rejected.
Soon after an Army recruiter called me and said they are willing to take me.
Someone told me I was rejected because of high test scores. I didn't really believe them, but it kind of makes sense.
Who wouldn't want to join an organization led by people with Christian Nationalist tattoos, into yet another war in the Middle East, for Operation: Epstein Distraction, AND Israel decides when we go to war? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3pL_ZCWPz0)
Join up! You can defend our "freedoms". Like the freedom to have ICE ignore the Constitution! We can do war crimes (bombing boats of Venezuela) now! The FCC threatens talk show hosts, and Pete Hegseth has opinions on the Scouts having girls in it (https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/441701...) but remember: they hate us for our FREEDOM. ( some conditions apply. )
[rumor] It's not like sailors are so desperate to get out of this situation that they'd set fire to the laundry room on an aircraft carrier... right?(https://news.usni.org/2026/03/23/carrier-uss-gerald-r-ford-a...) I mean, 8 months at sea, dumb ass war nobody wants. Hmm. [this one's just a rumor, of course].
Besides: They said recruiting was WAY up, and we already won in Iran. Weird they'd need to loosen the rules, right? Weird...
Page 2:
“Increases the maximum enlistment age up to and including age 42 for non-prior service applicants” (previously maximum age was 35)
“Eliminates requirement of a waiver for a single conviction of possession of marijuana or a single conviction of possession of drug paraphernalia”
Seems like they're having trouble recruiting people to serve as America launches headlong into GWOT 2.0 with no plan. It makes sense that people aren't signing up: it's a very unpopular war that was started by assassinating leaders during peace talks and bombing an elementary school, and it's not one they're winning.
And it's also a war with no clear benefit to Americans, which Marco Rubio admitted they were dragged into by Israel.
They've had the best recruiting performance in 10+ years.
+ a war for another country
But I think this might be a cope that is not well researched. How would one explain that all of this is quite literally not true and military recruitment is significantly higher under this administration? The actual reality is this policy just aligns with other branches and divisions of the military such as the Air Force. Not everything is explained by IDS. With all due respect, this seems like a reflexive anti-American position because it is so laughably wrong. Young men are much more likely to join under the current administration and I think it is pretty obvious. Also, the idea that there was no plan is just divorced from reality. People might not agree with the plan but this idea they didn't know what they were getting into is a sophomoric read, to be honest.
https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2025-06-03/army-recrui...
I think smart people do NOT want to enlist while Trump is Commander in Chief and Hegseth is in charge of the Military. The way the crew of the USS Ford have been treated is despicable.
> during peace talks
Well, I'm old enough to remember many "peace talks" go to eternity wit absolutely zero results. In many countries around the world. Just to create the argument.
Are you suggesting that it's a valid tactic to using peace talks to get your opponent to let their guard is down so you can attack them?
What's your therefore??
Up from 35 years. Average age is currently 22, though. Air Force and Space force went to 42 years back in 2023. The Navy went to 42 years in early 2026.
Maximum age for the Marines remains 28 years.
With high youth unemployment [1], it ought to be easier to recruit.
The land war is getting closer. The Army's 82nd Airborne has been sent towards Iran. Possibly to take Kharg Island, one of the very few objectives for which an airdrop might possibly make sense.[1] Possibly. 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force is already on the way.
[1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SLUEM1524ZSUSA
[2] https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-03-24-2026
When I joined the army as an infantryman back in the early 2000s there were kids who couldn’t start basic training because they weren’t capable of doing 6 pushups. 6.
I believe at the time they were allowing 38 year olds to join for the first time which seemed crazy to me. Now that I’m in my early 40s I can’t imagine going back in
If they want to draft any significant number of people, they will have to greatly lower the fitness standards.
77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs and more to join military, Pentagon study finds (2023) https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/03/77-of-young-america...
They should just deploy ICE.
And raise the pay.
The US military is in the process of changing fitness standards, mostly for ideological reasons [0]. Most enlisted I’ve spoken to consider the new tests harder, especially for women, but it isn’t clear cut and implementation across services has been weird.
Rumor is they’re also cracking down on (specifically medical, not religious) shaving waviers again, probably because some minorities have a skin condition that makes regular shaving painful.
So it’s a bit of a conundrum! They obviously want more enlisted so they can do more wars in more places, but they also are adding disincentives for female or nonwhite enlisted.
[0] https://www.fitnesswarriornation.com/hegseth-military-fitnes...
It’s a real bummer when your ideological imperatives start conflicting with each other.
Lucky for us Pete Hegseth declared war on "fat generals and admirals" and is going to end fat troops and increase fitness standards! /s
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5528556-hegseth-warrior-e...
> “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” he said. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon leading commands around the country and the world.”
“It’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are,” he continued.
> “I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape, or in a combat unit with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men” Hegseth said.
I was told he also promised a throwing axe for every grunt and to rid the world of the scourge of marching bands.
What about what he said is incorrect? I don't know, maybe you are not familiar with the U.S. military. You can many videos produced by the military under Biden of even significantly overweight drill instructors in the Marine Corps, for instance. I don't know if this is part of the "healthy at any size" thing or what.
Right, but that was before older people found out about Tai Chi! Youtube keeps telling me it’s a great way get ripped at 50! /s
I went into the armed forces recruiting office a year or two ago for Air Force Cyber and the adjacent Army and Navy recruiters were complaining that no one wanted to join while everyone was asking for Air Force when the Air Force recruiter was out for most of the year because he had met his quotas. Somehow I ended up in the Navy office and suffice to say I left the office with a big no to the Navy man no matter how much he tried to persuade me with promises of seeing the world. I have the internet for that thank you.
All my vet friends said to reconsider and I wisely followed their advice.
Good to have friends that can take the romance out of something. Not much world to see on the inside of an aircraft carrier is what I hear.
Effective April 20? Sometimes these days it’s hard to distinguish reality from The Onion.
And the age was set to 42.0
someone in that office knew exactly what they were doing with that date
Elon must be running the military now
I wonder how many of Gulf War II's 17-19-year-olds they'll get to re-enlist.
So I know you're making a joke/statement about how the post-9/11 volunteers got royally screwed over and are (understandably) disillusioned with war but I just wanted to add something here.
This change increases maximum enlistment age. Maximum reenlistment age is something else entirely. To reenlist, you need to be able to complete 20 years of service by age 62. So if you joined at 18 and did 8 years then you can technically rennlist up to age 50. Not that you would or should but you can.
They are having problems meeting the fitness standard right now. It seems these tests just get harder as you age.
The standards are really not that hard for someone who works out regularly. Which, if you’re joining the army you should probably be going to the gym.
If you’re being drafted, chances are you had no desire to be joining the army.
Nobody's being drafted because there's no draft in US since vietnam war
Presumably a 42 year old who can meet the fitness tests will be a better candidate than a 25 year old who cannot. Less 42 year olds will be able to meet the requirements, but the ones that do are what they’re after.
Note that fitness standards are bracketed by age, so the standards themselves get more lenient as age increases. The standards in question: https://www.goarmy.com/content/dam/goarmy/files/HQDA_EXORD_2...
As a 37 year old who has been growing more patriotic and willing to serve with age, I'm excited about having the option.
Just before I turned 35 and wanted to change careers, I spent a few days really considering enlisting, but decided I would not do well in an environment where 20 years olds outranked me :)
Finding it hard to compete with the rigorous ICE recruitment standards?
What would this have to do with ICE? Isn’t that DHS?
I think it is a joke of there is no requirement's ..
Same recruitment pool (like same "hiring pool" / market segment). Therefore, competing.
I think they mean (sarcastically) that ICE is sucking up all the qualified candidates.
>Run: 1.5-mile run in 14 minutes 25 seconds or less
Hilarious.
That's about a 8:30 mile scaling for the fact that its harder when you have to cover more distance... seems pretty reasonable to me as a fitness baseline for the army. I would struggle to make that now but if I had one month to prep I could clear that
Am I crazy? Isn't it 9:40 pace?
I guess they’re saying if you can run an 8:30 mile, you can keep a 9:40 pace for a mile and a half
I'm not sure if you're saying this as somebody who never runs, or somebody who runs so often that you've forgotten baseline levels. That's a very significant hurdle for most people. I'm in very good shape strength wise, but I'd almost certainly need to do some significant training to meet that since I just never run.
I run for weight loss and general health and at one point had a BMI in the mid-thirties. Back then I was able to make that pace for sessions of 30-40 minutes on most days. I'm not trying to say that it's easy, but I would expect someone in ICE to easily outrun an obese person.
I don’t think someone completely untrained can do 10’ / mile.
Depends on what’s behind them I suppose
Depends on what you mean by untrained. I think most men who exercise regularly and don't carry a ton of extra bodyweight, even with zero running, could bang out 1.5 miles at 9:40 pace. Couch potatoes, no.
"most men who exercise regularly and don't carry a ton of extra bodyweight, even with zero running" - what's that supposed to mean? How do they exercise then when they are not running?
I don't think many people who don't exercise running can do 1.5 miles in 9:40.
It's 1.5 miles in 14:25, I think most people can handle that. There are plenty of ways to exercise that aren't plain running. Biking, skating, swimming, Tai chi...
A 29 minute 5K is not trivial
How many young men do you know who have never tried marijuana, don't have a tattoo and don't have facial hair? A few years ago it seemed the Army didn't actually want to recruit young men. They loosened the tattoo requirements in 2022. The facial hair requirement remains, but that's less of an imposition since you can grow it back.
They'll have to start taking harassment seriously if they want to recruit more young women.
I don't know about the facial hair. It would take me months to grow back my moustache, and until then I'd look 10 years younger. Given my age that would be pretty ridiculous.
> I don't know about the facial hair.
Facial hair prevents the proper functioning of gas masks and other sorts of PPE that sits on your face. Hypothetically speaking, [0] I'd rather deal with looking like a minor than with getting a snoot and face full of something dreadfully toxic.
[0] Hypothetical because I'm way too old to ever be confused with a minor again.
There are limits on gang tattoos, face/neck/hand tattoos and tattoos that promote various hate-based or extremist ideologies (e.g. Nazi or KKK tattoos.) Other than that, tattoos are allowed.
The document seems to be about convictions for marijuana possession, not usage.
Given Sec. Hegseth's record, I don't think he really wants women in the military.
Given Sec. Hegseth’s tattoos, I don’t think he wants himself in there either
> They'll have to start taking harassment seriously if they want to recruit more young women.
Yeah, um.. about that...
Hegseth doesn’t want women in the military.
Maybe one of the lessons the American government learned from the war in Ukraine is that middle aged men can fight wars too.
There's a big difference between having older soldiers fighting a defensive war on home soil vs sending them overseas.
In the first scenario, you desperately need a lot of warm bodies, most of what these people would be otherwise doing has been shut down, if someone does perform a critical role in society at large, going back and forth is quick, and the alternative still potentially leads to you losing that person.
In the second scenario, recruiting middle aged people robs your economic/industrial/cultural base of its experience and mid-level leaders who are critical to stuff getting done. Substantial resources are spent training, moving, and sustaining these troops who are not as well suited as younger individuals, on top of the opportunity cost. Besides the people already in the military who have spent years gaining applicable military experience, those additional bodies are liabilities, not assets. An argument can be made for raising mandatory retirement age to keep those skills around, but not for new recruits.
I'd rather the old go to war before the young, even if they are worse at it.
We are all better off going to war with (against) the people trying to send us off to unjustified wars.
That is why we vote. Canvas your neighborhood. Start local. Go to your city counsel meetings. Tell your representatives what you think or even run for local office. Support the people that won't take us to war. Democracy works when people participate.
Surprised comments are so negative. I think it's a great thing to expand - the military can be an excellent career path, and this allows more people to take it should they choose.
I know many 40 somethings in way better shape than most 20 somethings. And all things considered, if I were someday somehow sent off to war, I'd much rather be surrounded by the former assuming equivalent fitness.
I think the timing makes it harder to view this optimistically? although for voluntary enlistment I'm not personally concerned yeah.
Yeah it sounds great if you make up positive scenarios in your head for sure
How many 40 year olds are looking for a career path as an infantryman?
> Surprised comments are so negative.
It's midnight in the US on a workday, what would be more American than non-Americans complaining about America on American social media?
You're absolutely right. I was having trouble understanding why every commenter seems completely wrong about what the Army is, and recruitment numbers, and basically everything else.
I'm arguing with children and people not in the US. Time for bed.
Many people look for purpose and impact in their careers.
If one has impact in the military, what purpose is it serving under current administration and leadership? It's a hard sell from an ethical perspective.
Jobs that feel purposeless is a common complaint but actively serving evil?
most career paths don't kill you for oil
Farms need fit 40 year olds too.
Why not just join ICE? The acts you might have to commit there are probably less bad than what the military gets up to, and you don't get sent overseas?
Becoming an E-1 at age 40 isn't a "career path", it's a last resort for somebody who for whatever reason can't make more than $30K/year with the skills they've gained over the last 25 years, and for whom having functioning knees is less important than needing the money.
So they should just age out in poverty and die? Such people exist. To be clear, I'm 1000% against anything resembling a draft, but if an older person wants to, why stop them? A guy in my brother's medical doctor graduation class was 46 years old. Good thing nobody explained to him it was too late and he failed already.
In all seriousness, I do agree about the functioning knees part. But as long as it's voluntary, I don't see the downside.
It seems unhealthy for the sake of our military.
I'm not privy to the decisions about how staffing 42-year-old As infantry men is militarily wise, however.
A career as a doctor has a lot more upside than an entry level grunt.
> So they should just age out in poverty and die?
You referred to joining the US military as an E-1 at the age of 42 as a career path. As an Army brat, I can tell you that it absolutely is not. At that age, it absolutely is a job of last resort.
> Surprised comments are so negative
it's because people cannot disassociate their own anti-war views with the benefits of a military career.
Are you admonishing people for not being selfish and making decisions which benefit themselves even if it puts them in a position where they can't say no to wronging someone else?
What does this even mean? "If you just ignore the fact that your job is murdering people for no reason, the benefits are great!" Why, exactly, should people "disassociate" that?
You are asking whether someone should not have picked the military career if it was the best fit for them, just because you are personally morally against what they do?
That's why i dont confound the military with the political aparatus's directing of said power. Because the military isn't murdering people for no reason - they are following (in the case of the west) a elected official's policy (which you are very welcome to dislike and oppose, as i do as well).
The negativity isn’t anti-military service. It’s because this specific expansion at this particular time for this current administration is all very ridiculous.
I think most people still are in support of the idea if military service even if that job may entail death.
People should look up what the US military has been up to for the past half a century if they think this particular time is an abberation.
Yeah just think of how great it would've been to serve in the past decades. Oh wait you'd still end up killing people in the Mideast - half way around the world, and in turn getting killed by them, all in endeavors that ultimately make the world a worse and less safe place. And that certainly includes America.
More than 80% of the US Army are noncombat roles. Only the naive or uneducated associate someone in the US Army with killing people.
Ah yes, your job is simply to carry the ammo for the guys slaughtering schools full of children, so to speak. Squeaky clean conscience!
Technically those were precision guided munitions carried by Air Force bombers. So you can enlist in the army with a clear conscience.
What will US public do if US in Iran ends up like Russia in Ukraine, recruiting 30K soldiers every month to die in middle east?
Maybe at this time they are having trouble recruiting but just like Russia US has large prison population that may like the offer thar Russian prisoners got: 6 months on the frontlines, if you survive you are free and well paid.
Just today Iran backed militants released a video of drones takings out US helicopters and radars, very similar to what we are used to seeing in Ukraine.
Is US public really ready to support such a thing and endure hardship like the Russians for ideological causes?
It’s fascinating, maybe Trump is right- maybe his supporters are literally tired of winning and want attrition?
I don't think the US has the culture to support this. I do not think Trump has the political capital to support this.
Assuming elections still happen, that scenario would mean the end of the Republican party.
I used to think the same but according to the polls I keep seeing the support for war seems to be very strong, up to %100 among MAGA in fact.
They used to say they are against war, against "jewish influence", against this against that but nothing seems to be changing their minds. I thought that this high ranking MAGA dude who resign over "Israel influence concerns" and immediately did rounds on the MAGA-sphere popular outlets doesn't seem to have any influence on the support for the war.
Maybe its some more primal urge to kill and get killed and Trump has control over it?
"Exclusive: Trump's approval hits new 36% low as fuel prices surge amid Iran war, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds"
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-approval-hits-new-36...
Thats the general public that apparently doesn't have any grip. You can do whatever you want if tens of millions of people + the billionaires support you till the end when hundreds of millions are mildly annoyed by you.
> of drones takings out US helicopters
They attacked a HH-60M Medevac helicopter which is a war crime, and also explains why it wasn't protected.
Also, the radar was Iraqi, although possibly jointly operated with the US.
No one cares about war crimes since years, US itself is allied in this war with credibly alleged war criminals. Besides, there's much to do against drones reaching a base other than locking down the gear in reinforced building and that's not practical when the gear is used which means whatever is on the open gets blown up. The Russians were putting tires on the wings, it did not help much.
We are slowly grinding towards another world war the reason similar to world war 2. Ie an ethno state expanding it's territory while considering it's population as some kind of master race so commiting a genocide against the rest. Ironic the victims have become the perpetuators.
The military has spent decades working on a general aptitude test, called the ASVAB [1]. It's a score up to 99, which is usually what people focus on, but there are also line scores for things like electrical and mechanical. When you join, there'll be a score range you'll need to be in and possibly certain subtest scores.
Generally speaking, you've needed a minimum ASVAB of 31 to join the military. Recruiting stations will have quotas of only accepting so many below 50 so if you're below 50 you may have a more restrictive choice of job, even though you qualify, because you're an undesirable candidate. You take up a valuable sub-50 slot. Oh and below 50 and the Air Force won't even sneeze on you. They don't have to take you. They have more than enough applicants.
This can go the other way too. You can score too high for certain jobs such that they won't want to sign you up because you'll get bored. This is way less common obviously.
Every area of the country is covered by a recruiting station ("RS") for each branch and is staffed by recruiters who usually aren't volunteers (eg most marines on a re-enlistment after an initial 4 years will have to do a Special Duty Assignment--SDA--and will end up as a recruiter or a drill instructor). Each recruiter will generally have a quota to fill of 2 contracts per month.
In some areas (eg Texas) this is no problem at all. Recruiters can be picky. In others, it's way more of a challenge. Anyway, a few years ago the enlistment numbers for the Navy must've gotten so bad that for awhile they were accepting an ASVAB of 10 [1]. 10 is bordering on illiterate.
I say this because raising the maximum enlistment age to 42 is almost as desperate as lowering the ASVAB minimum to 10. I cannot imagine a 42 year old E-! in basic getting yelled at by a 23 year old DI. You won't be doing 20 for the pension. I guess you'll get the GI Bill after 3-4 years. That's something I guess? Most other 42 year olds you'll meet will be near or beyond their 20 years.
[1]: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-recruiting-afqt-asvab-s...
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Services_Vocational_Apti...
In 2004, as a senior in high school, I tried enlisting in the Marines (infantry, what was I thinking based on the year). I scored 99 on the ASVAB (finished way earlier than everyone else) with a high SAT score as well.
Passed all the physicals at Fort Dix. I was rejected.
Soon after an Army recruiter called me and said they are willing to take me.
Someone told me I was rejected because of high test scores. I didn't really believe them, but it kind of makes sense.
And Americans were laughing when Russia was doing something similar. Pot calling the kettle black.
I'm sure plenty Americans are also laughing at this. No hypocrisy here.
America is a very big place. It is nearly 4 million square miles, and has a population of over 340 million people.
Next time you start to generalize about "Americans" exhibiting some kind of unified belief or behavior, just stop and think about how stupid that is.
> Effective 20 April 2026
Oh, come on.
I thought you were joking about the date! They actually picked that one :)
Whats the significance
420
Sadly Pete Hegseth is 45.
Who wouldn't want to join an organization led by people with Christian Nationalist tattoos, into yet another war in the Middle East, for Operation: Epstein Distraction, AND Israel decides when we go to war? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3pL_ZCWPz0)
I'm sure they'll have no trouble recruiting the kinds of people they want - no woke, no DEI, no women, nobody who'd be troubled by symbols of swastikas or nooses (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/20/...).
Hey, for the people who DO sign up, they'll get to use Trump Drones! Well, Trump's sons drones (https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-sons-ba...). Those big juicy contracts were definitely awarded on merit, right? Right; good luck!
Join up! You can defend our "freedoms". Like the freedom to have ICE ignore the Constitution! We can do war crimes (bombing boats of Venezuela) now! The FCC threatens talk show hosts, and Pete Hegseth has opinions on the Scouts having girls in it (https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/441701...) but remember: they hate us for our FREEDOM. ( some conditions apply. )
Maybe the Air Force? Well, if you like Erika Kirk and White Christian Nationalism: (https://theintercept.com/2026/03/19/air-force-academy-charli...).
[rumor] It's not like sailors are so desperate to get out of this situation that they'd set fire to the laundry room on an aircraft carrier... right?(https://news.usni.org/2026/03/23/carrier-uss-gerald-r-ford-a...) I mean, 8 months at sea, dumb ass war nobody wants. Hmm. [this one's just a rumor, of course].
Besides: They said recruiting was WAY up, and we already won in Iran. Weird they'd need to loosen the rules, right? Weird...