Enlisted in Army, shipping out Nov 23rd. 25 Years old

Hey TW,

I'm shipping out to Fort Jackson on November 23rd as an 89D, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist.

I'm 25 and married.

What are your experiences with older people joining the military? My friend, became a Marine about 1 year ago at the age of 25 and felt he had an advantage over the younger guys. I'm curious what all your thoughts are be.

 

I joined when I was 25. You'll find out pretty quick your maturity level will help. Dudes that are straight out of moms house who think they have the world figured out get a rude awakening haha

 

Hopefully you can get on with local bomb squad. My experience tells me to tell you pick an MOS you can use when you get out. I was a patriot middle launcher, now I'm a mechanic. I should have went mp, firefighter, something that makes good money when you get out but that they will train you to do. Also boot camp is just a formality. If you go knowing the drill sgt is just doing their job and its not personal then you'll be fine. I wish I could go back for just boot camp. I lost a bunch of weight those 9 weeks.

 

That's what I was thinking and have also heard. Thanks

 

Yeah I think that'd be a fun job to do afterwords. The training pipeline is pretty long and with a high attrition rate, so I'll just have to take it one day at a time and see what happens

Yeah I feel fairly confident that basic training won't be anything all that crazy or shocking to me.

 

Thanks for signing up man.

 

The kids are going to call you old. A buddy of mine enlisted when he was 29 and his nickname in basic was "Grandpa". Seems silly now that we're all so much older, but to 18 and 19 year olds that still don't know how to wipe their own asses, I guess that's old. But in the end, you'll have an edge on them because you're going to be lightyears ahead of them when you want to promote. Thank you and your family for your service.

 

Yeah, I was actually surprised how many people I met down at MEPS that were near my age and/or also married

 

It's actually getting more common these days. Good to see because that means we're getting more mature boots on the ground where it counts and not some dipshit that thinks he's Rambo and has played so much COD that he thinks he can respawn if shit goes down. Tactical minds save lives.

 

Congrats on signing up.

Im but 21 myself but enlisted when i was 18(im in ROTC now)

From my experience you'll meet all sorts of people from various backgrounds,finances and whatnot but if you keep your head down and dont let the DS learn your name(i wasnt fortunate in Infantry school lol) you'll be alright. Its more of a mind game than anything else really. At 25, you'll be light years ahead of everyone just finally leaving their house for the first time!

 

Good luck. Try not to lose your patience at some of the kids, a lot of people will be younger than you and outrank you. Not to incite any inter-service dick swinging, but there are really dumb people in each branch of the military (actually in life), you just gotta be patient. Oh, but most importantly, just have fun. Humor helps most of the time. (60% ~all the time)

 

Congrats, whish I had stayed in. It's all head games...don't vomit in your gas mask. lol. Remember, your body can take a hell of a lot more then you think. When your body has had enough you'll fall on your face but until then, push on. You'll be surprised at how much you can take before complete shut down.

 

Great MOS.....going in at your age (which you are young btw) isn't an obstacle at all. The only issue that anyone would ever have during BCT is putting up with all the whiners, mouth breathers, and lazy ass kids around you. Good luck and give it your all!!!

 

Thank you! I appreciate it

 

Hahah yeah I heard vommitting in your gas mask is something you want to avoid. haha

 

that... your only downside will be when you get yelled at by 20 yo sgt.

 

I was 21 in boot. They realized quick I was not their problem and pretty much focused on the idiots. You'll be fine. Thanks for stepping up.

 

Don't think Full Metal Jacket when you think about basic training. lol

 

As a senior SF NCO I'll say maturity is huge. I would rather deal with a 30 year old private any day. Good luck with EOD, watch out for them IEDS coming from experience dont fuck with with um. Just blow in place and move on.

 

Yeah expect something more like summer camp...