Posted: 7/7/2007 6:20:02 AM EDT
Alright here it is with the Guard offering that up to $20,000 sign on bonus and extending the age limit out to 42 I'm thinking about joining the National Guard at the ripe old age of 35  any advice anyone can give me on how hard is basic on an old guy and would I be a grandpa compared to the rest of the pack??
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basic isn't hard if your even so-so in shape. they try to mind f*ck you, but if you stay motivated you'll be fine. You'll definately be the grand-pa of the company, possibly battalion at 35. DS probably won't mess with you much though, as you'll be older than most of them as well. BCT, in '02, was a joke to me. My wife said BCT in '06 was a joke to her, but then I tell her what we did, and she freaks out. YMMV |
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depends on the condition you're in. I was passing the pt test in the 17-21 yo category at the age of 39 pretty fucking sad when you're the 'old man' and these young punks can't do nearly as good as you.  basic training was (I go back to the 80's mind you) pretty easy, you have to not want to finish to not make it. If you're in shape before you go (highly recommended) you should have no problem, just got to deal with the mental part of the 'game'. take a look at the PT test requirements and make sure you hit the 70% mark for your age group (double check with a recruiter to see if standards are different for BT) you will loose weight in bt, but again, the better shape you're in from the start, the better off you'll be. rulez: 1. get everything in writting 2. have everything explained to you to YOUR satisfaction 3. document everything to protect yourself 4. keep copies of everything with your name on it 5. honor the chain of command and by all means use it. 6. keeping rule #5 in mind, do not hesitate to take things over someone's head if they're not getting things taken care of. 7. people will stab you in the back for the most minor things- beware. 8. the military is full of people with one thing on their minds... their carrer. you are your own best advocate. |
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basic will probably suck for you because you will have to deal with the dumbest most immature 17 year old privates, plus they will probably make you the platoon daddy and you will have to babysit. Basic isn't bad its just long and teh suck, its not all that hard you just have to suck it up. Are you married? realize that you will have to make some huge sacrifices, i have seen a ton of divorces in my unit and its really sad especially when kids are involved. |
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When I joined, there were two other guys in my platoon of 41 who were in their early 40s, and several guys in their mid to late 30s. In the entire battery, there were at least a half a dozen 40s guys and many 30s guys. EDITED TO ADD: I'm sure the age spread depends on the MOS. Ft. Sill trains soldiers who are going to become medics, mechanics, artillerymen, and a few other MOSs, and don't train infantry, etc. Infantry probably has fewer 30s and 40s recruits. As for difficulty, both of the 40s guys, both of whom looked a bit overweight, were able to get through everything. Physically Basic isn't that bad. The PT is easy, and the APFTs aren't hard. The things I had difficulty in were the road marches. But the worst part was the sleep deprivation. It made everything much worse than it would have been. 
Depends. Mine was 6 weeks, 3 days. I was 13 Fox, forward observer. It's one of the shorter MOSs. |
The length of the school depends on what MOS you end up enlisting as. While you're there you will make whatever pay is commesurate with your grade. www.dfas.mil/militarypay/2006militarypaytables/2007_Web_Pay_Table.pdf You should be able to get E3 if you have some college. |
yeah but their is a difference you still see each other, i dont know how it is now but I got to make 1 phone call when I got to basic and then no calls for 6 weeks. |
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Our platoon guide actually did become a grandpa during Basic, back in 2001. You'll be OK. They don't expect 19-year-old physical capability out of a 35 year old. When the young'uns are knocking out 40 pushups a crack, as long as you look like you're making the effort to keep up (even if you can't), you'll be fine. Expect some extra duties/responsibilities as the Drills will rely on you to help the younger guys out. You will be frustrated by the stupidity/immaturity of your younger peers. Once out of Basic, you'll be fine, as long as you're not in an infantry unit. 35 is a bit too old for grunt work IMO, but I could be wrong. NTM |
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