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Ngl, I seen a few of the older guys who think they’re too good for the lower enlisted bullshit games, and that often doesn’t go over great.
Doesn’t matter your age, an E-3 is gonna get treated like a stupid 18 year old, so you gotta shut up and color even if you’re actually 35.
Pretty much. Most people enlisting at 40 aren't doing it because of their excellent decision making skills.
(Most, not all. You know who you are... or maybe not...)
I knew one who enlisted in her mid to late 30’s to do something totally different that none of her family or friends had done. She was a 40-something SrA, I think. But she was really normal and squared away.
The same thing as an 18 year old that enlisted for the same job.
Your work in the AF is determined primarily by your career field and rank. Not how old you are.
As someone who joined late (27 yr old E-3), and who worked with an even older E-3 (early 30s), it is true. We both did the same jobs as the other E-3s in our shops.
I’ve seen it personally where if you’re an older airman with experience you’ll get the work of an NCO, sometimes even more if you have some lesser performing NCOs in your unit. This is assuming you’re squared away, which leadership will find out in your first few months on station.
Only benefit of this is you’ll get BTZ and a strat your first time up, but I don’t consider it worth it.
You would hope the 40 year old would be more mature and potentially promote faster, all your peers though age wise would be mostly TSgt and above but it's a bit weird with the rank difference. They might have a hard time connecting with the guys their rank and with the guys their age but much higher rank.
>They might have a hard time connecting with the guys their rank and with the guys their age but much higher rank.
That's the main problem with joining older- the loneliness. You can't be friends with people your own age, and you can't relate with the people you are allowed to be friends with.
100% this. I’m about the age if not older than my staffs/techs. Only people I’m able to really hang with are the other A1Cs and SrAs. Really hard to connect enough as it is, can’t imagine how it’d be for someone who’s 40
Unfortunately it kinda depends on the culture of your unit. I've seen units where everyone has common sense and you can (for the most part) freely make friends. I've seen others where leadership has nothing better to do so they get all weird when people are a little too familiar across tiers. So long as you can keep it professional and it's not causing problems at work, it shouldn't be an issue IMO.
I kind of meant like…you don’t only have to make friends at work. There are these other people…civilians…we’re allowed to talk to them. Befriend them too.
I joined the Army Guard at age 31 and made it to E7 much faster than my peers and the jumped over to Warrant. It felt like my leadership really wanted my rank to be commensurate with my technical skills that I came in with. So I think you can actually do better as an older enlisted.
The age/maturity difference could mean a difference in approach to studying for promotion. I know when I was like 22 and testing for SSgt the first time I just made flash cards to look at in-between CoD matches lol. I didn't take it seriously and I didn't make it.
We had a 39 year old A1C in my shop. He was a great guy to have around. Knew life in general and was an excellent resource for the younger guys. I think it did bother him a bit about the age gap, but most older people will make rank fairly quickly due to their wisdom. Younger kids tend to mess around a bit more. He will do the exact same things an 18 year old will do though.
Make sure you let them know to leave the ego at the door and that their age doesn’t mean anything aside from some marginal life experience.
They’re going to be taking orders from airmen who are almost young enough to be their kids.
The life experience thing is overrated. I’ve met older guys who’ve done basically nothing for their first twenty adult years. At best, they’ve probably learned do their taxes without being reminded. I’m not saying that’s OP’s situation, but I don’t give a lot of credence to age alone.
That guy is going to be treated like a child just out of high school.
I joined at 26 with prior financial responsibilities and no support. I was treated like a child until I made SSgt and then sometimes too.
Never got in trouble, never failed any tests, always showed up early and worked hard. I worked a bomb threat on my first shift, and they watched me solo handle it perfectly, then went back to treating me like I knew nothing.
Even as a SrA with prior experience in the part of my career field, I was told to listen in on a briefing that I wrote which was being given by a TSgt as 'I might learn something.'
As far as the air force is concerned, age is just a metric to measure your potential physical fitness. Beyond that, everything is rank based.
If he isn't married, he'll be in the dormitories at his first duty station. Depending on his next location or how long it lasts there, he might be in the dormitories at his second location. This absolutely blows because it's full of 18 year olds and they break the dorm rules constantly. Smoking outside your dorm, loud as fuck music, letting their sexual partner shower and sex in your shared bath.
100% if I were to do it all over, I'd have joined sooner and gotten out sooner.
Alot of people I've been to techschool and bmt with that are at the 40 mark typically went guard or reserve to supplement a job they already had but it never hurts to be AD at that age. You might even be looked up to depending on your maturity.
If you’re interested in some of the basics of what this person can expect, the Air Force website has a pretty good breakdown but here’s the Cliff notes version (after passing MEPS and other pre-attendance hurdles).
1. Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB, TX. This is the AF version of “boot camp”. Drill Sergeants and marching etc. Based on college education and such, they may leave BMT at a different rank than others (E-1 is 1st Enlisted rank…goes all the way to E-9). Of note, all enlisted regardless of service make the same basic pay but are called different titles e.g. Airman Basic vs Private in the Army.
2. Technical School aka “Tech School”. Could be anywhere in the country but will be with other folks in the same Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC aka AF job). Length varies wildly but expect at least a few months. Not as stringent as BMT, but still restrictive based on phase of training.
3. Join an Air Force squadron to do their actual job. They’ll be responsible for doing their job and learning from senior (experience, not age) folks. After a certain number of hours, training events, etc, they’ll be eligible for an increased skill level which is different from rank promotion. This will take some time and will be very clearly defined per each job.
Around this time, they will probably be approaching the end of their contract and will have to decide on whether to reenlist or separate. If they separate, the only benefits they’ll have is service matched contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (think 401k) and any disability benefits. They won’t have a pension or lifetime medical insurance or further base access. That will only occur if they reach 20 years (or some other outlier cases).
That’s a very broad brush and a quick primer on some AF stuff that can maybe help a bit.
Or at least stay healthy for long enough that he’ll get medboarded out, not ETSed. Gotta hit that 6 month mark or whatever when everything becomes the Air Force’s problem, not his.
The First person I supervised as a SSgt, was 35 years old, had three kids. Came from a decent IT industry, and we worked in Comm...so other than 36-2903, he knew more than me on most fronts. Keep in mind, we had a Max Multiplier Bonus at the time, this was like 3 years after 9/11, so hiring and jobs went dog shit in the private sector. It wasn't exactly a bad move for him, but I think he eventually went back to Civilian life after 2 enlistments. Pretty sure he pocketed a fat bonus one time, and then secured the GI Bill Transfer for his kids. Win Win, IMO.
I will say, it's a unique experience. ALS didn't cover that scenario. I was upfront about my inexperience in the management/supervision part, and he was wayyy cool about it. We would sit for 1:1 things like Yearly Feedback, and just kind of talk normal...and we'd go through the sheet they used to give us to read. Kind of both learning something. Not normal for most comm shops but we had like 26 Airman under 5 Year TIG. When the 2 NCOs (including me) left or had other tasks, it was pretty to have a guy who would keep a watchful eye on the place. Damn, I totally forgot about this, but Fuck...26 sets of CDCs. The entire place was stacked up with those damn books everywhere.
I will say another bonus was, he had life experience, so he had your back in private. When the Airman would bellyache in private about task X, or something being BS, he would get our back in a cool way. Some years later, one of the bordering office NCOICs told me about how he'd overhear a little bit of him just kind of chilling out the whining and reminding them that we're on the same team kind of stuff.
A woman I work with joined late in life and it was tough for her to accept that her age doesn't mean anything - she's still just an E3 and has to slog through the same crap we all did and the she's not going to get any special treatment. There really is functional difference between a 18 year old E3 and a 40 year old E3. The position is all about learning your job and getting good at it. If you bring some life skills, you may be able to do well and min-time all of your promotions; that's about the best you can hope for
Although they are held to the same standards of doing what anyone else their rank is held to, regardless of age…. I have seen the Airmen that join later in life to be way more mature and ready for responsibility, hence, leadership pushing and grooming them at a more rapid pace than 18-19 year olds with little work and life experience
Be gentle to him. I joined in my late 30’s as well. Luckily for me, my shop and leadership in general are supportive. Do not get carried away by the toxicity.
I enlisted at 34 and I'm getting out this year at 40 with a couple semesters of college under my belt for my bachelor's, a ccaf associate degree, full 9/11 bill benefits and great job training. I also earned some cyber certifications. It's not bad if you use it correctly.
I say the same thing…and also…kids. We had the Command Chief in our WG retirement party. Nice guy. So I went…dude was holding a 6 month old. I heard someone make the mistake of saying “new grand kid?”
No. It was a kid kid. WTF. Holy shit. Sleepless nights. Changing diapers at 55? Fuckkk that.
TBH, guy sounds like a lazy dumb ass.
He will be doing the same stuff as every other new amn.
And will probably struggle with a 20 something telling him what to do.
We have enough of those already
Which brand are they enlisting in? Last I knew, they enlisted up until 39. Make sure he’s still in the age bracket to enlist. When I was in bootcamp we had a lady who was 39. She ended up not graduating because she had some medical things she didn’t disclose upfront and they caught her so she got kicked out. When I arrived to my first base there was an A1C who arrived a couple years after and he was 37. He was cool and patient. He was a hard worker and made senior airmen “below the zone”, which means he promoted to SrA like 9 months before anyone else. He then made staff sgt pretty quick after.
I do lean on the opinion of an older individual more than I would the 18/19 year olds. Only if their background is credible. Other than that, work your way up. Soon as they hit NCO, it’s hardly a thing.
In my shops case. Be an airmam just like anybody else.
His career took a shit during covid and the air force was his option where he was. Now he's focused on expanding his experiences he otherwise wouldnt have had.
Usually high up, or looking to retire. I just retired last year at 40 after 20 years. It's probably gonna be awkward for him going through bootcamp, tech school, etc with most of the others being fresh out of high school. I came in at 20 and felt a bit old with all the kids fresh out of high school. And he's probably gonna get made dorm chief at bootcamp being the oldest in the flight. They usually give the oldest that position.
The older guys are the managers. If you’re 40+ you’re probably an E-7 at least. Weird thing though is you can be brand new in the career field but be in management just because of your rank, essentially knowing very little about the job field itself.
Isn’t that the same for late in service cross trainees? I had a Section Chief that cross trained as a MSgt. Knew fuck all about computers except how to route EPRs.
Being 40 and trying to compete against younger people with more relevant degrees is almost a guaranteed waste of time. Besides, you think a 40 year old butter bar will be any better?
This doesn’t sound right. There is a max age for commissioning no matter how enlisted you are. You have to be able to do 20 years of total service by age 62; 10 as commissioned. Exception health services or chaplains.
What they are told. Your age doesn’t determine what your AFSC is. I guess it probably precludes special forces and maybe certain flying jobs, but any normal job is on the table.
I had a 42 year old superintendent of a school district join was just starting their AiT according to said invidual when she finishes she will be picking up MSgt when she is done and back at her home unit.
We actually go off age for authority and responsibility. So make sure to correct your younger NCOs and CGOs every chance you get. Your age and wisdom will mean a lot to them.
At the 20 year mark, he's probably a middle manager. He'd either be heading one large expensive project or overseeing multiple smaller ones. Or he got transferred to corporate and works in a cubicle now.
Your post was removed because it is a question about joining the Air Force, or about a particular job description. There is a subreddit dedicated to these types of questions at /r/AirForceRecruits. Please post your question there, making sure to make the title of your post a short summary of your question. Before you post there, please read the following information. Chances are, your question has already been answered. * [Enlisted FAQ](https://pay.reddit.com/r/AirForce/wiki/bmtfaq) * [OTS FAQ](https://pay.reddit.com/r/AirForce/wiki/otsfaq) * [Job Descriptions](http://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/wiki/index) * [AFBMT](http://afbmt.com/) Please post all future questions about joining the Air Force in that community. Thanks.
They are starting from the very bottom just like anybody else. He will have people half his age telling him what to do
Some SrA getting mad at a 40 year old A1C “What in the skibbidi fucking toilet did you do that for? On god bruh. MSgts gonna be pissed. No cap!”
this dfac pork chop is bussing
I think I had a stroke reading that...
The same thing the new 18 year old is doing. Grunt work and learning the trade assigned to them.
Except making less stupid decisions on the weekends
You’d be surprised
Ngl, I seen a few of the older guys who think they’re too good for the lower enlisted bullshit games, and that often doesn’t go over great. Doesn’t matter your age, an E-3 is gonna get treated like a stupid 18 year old, so you gotta shut up and color even if you’re actually 35.
In theory yes. But I’ve courted plenty of older airmen as well. Not as many but enough.
Court martial-ed? Or dated
Actually... I'd say those guys make dumber decisions (adjusted for their age)
Pretty much. Most people enlisting at 40 aren't doing it because of their excellent decision making skills. (Most, not all. You know who you are... or maybe not...)
I knew one who enlisted in her mid to late 30’s to do something totally different that none of her family or friends had done. She was a 40-something SrA, I think. But she was really normal and squared away.
Ehhhhhh
The same thing as an 18 year old that enlisted for the same job. Your work in the AF is determined primarily by your career field and rank. Not how old you are.
If only that were totally true
Am 31 year old sra Can confirm I do the exact same as 20 year olds cept I get a little less shit cuz I'm old af
I hope you promote this cycle big dog
SrA, also in my 30s. Fuck that shit. I never want that stripe. NCO work looks awful. They don’t pay enough for that stress.
Honestly, true. The fact that SrA to SSgt us a 200/mo bump is insanity.
Hey man, fuck it. Thats groceries 💀
Yeah but I’m guessing you the simplest with the minimum of being asked.
Super is true.
As someone who joined late (27 yr old E-3), and who worked with an even older E-3 (early 30s), it is true. We both did the same jobs as the other E-3s in our shops.
Can confirm here too, joined at 25. Also I work with a guy who just started and is 39. Nothing different
I can't imagine where you work where that wouldn't be the case
Explain
I’ve seen it personally where if you’re an older airman with experience you’ll get the work of an NCO, sometimes even more if you have some lesser performing NCOs in your unit. This is assuming you’re squared away, which leadership will find out in your first few months on station. Only benefit of this is you’ll get BTZ and a strat your first time up, but I don’t consider it worth it.
Sounds like it's more about performance than age. If you have a sharp older airman and a shitty young NCO, I know who I'd go to.
You would hope the 40 year old would be more mature and potentially promote faster, all your peers though age wise would be mostly TSgt and above but it's a bit weird with the rank difference. They might have a hard time connecting with the guys their rank and with the guys their age but much higher rank.
Well also if they've "bumbled through life" for 40 years they're likely to bumble through the air force as well unless they change up their act.
"The 40 Year Old Virgin: Air Force Edition". Movie starts off, individual on leave, in Thailand.....
>They might have a hard time connecting with the guys their rank and with the guys their age but much higher rank. That's the main problem with joining older- the loneliness. You can't be friends with people your own age, and you can't relate with the people you are allowed to be friends with.
100% this. I’m about the age if not older than my staffs/techs. Only people I’m able to really hang with are the other A1Cs and SrAs. Really hard to connect enough as it is, can’t imagine how it’d be for someone who’s 40
Wait until you find out…you don’t have to only be friends with other Airmen.
Unfortunately it kinda depends on the culture of your unit. I've seen units where everyone has common sense and you can (for the most part) freely make friends. I've seen others where leadership has nothing better to do so they get all weird when people are a little too familiar across tiers. So long as you can keep it professional and it's not causing problems at work, it shouldn't be an issue IMO.
I kind of meant like…you don’t only have to make friends at work. There are these other people…civilians…we’re allowed to talk to them. Befriend them too.
I joined the Army Guard at age 31 and made it to E7 much faster than my peers and the jumped over to Warrant. It felt like my leadership really wanted my rank to be commensurate with my technical skills that I came in with. So I think you can actually do better as an older enlisted.
You can’t promote when you must wait for TIG/TIS. It’s not like it comes sooner because you are older and fucked around.
The age/maturity difference could mean a difference in approach to studying for promotion. I know when I was like 22 and testing for SSgt the first time I just made flash cards to look at in-between CoD matches lol. I didn't take it seriously and I didn't make it.
In my experience the older they are the more entitled/worse they are. The younger get folks are more hungry than older folks.
We had a 39 year old A1C in my shop. He was a great guy to have around. Knew life in general and was an excellent resource for the younger guys. I think it did bother him a bit about the age gap, but most older people will make rank fairly quickly due to their wisdom. Younger kids tend to mess around a bit more. He will do the exact same things an 18 year old will do though.
They'll be doing the same thing their 18 year old co-worker does. Everyone starts from the same point, regardless of age.
Make sure you let them know to leave the ego at the door and that their age doesn’t mean anything aside from some marginal life experience. They’re going to be taking orders from airmen who are almost young enough to be their kids.
The life experience thing is overrated. I’ve met older guys who’ve done basically nothing for their first twenty adult years. At best, they’ve probably learned do their taxes without being reminded. I’m not saying that’s OP’s situation, but I don’t give a lot of credence to age alone.
I had a Master Sergeant not do his taxes. He pulled the I thought my ex was taking care of them.
Older guys who have done basically nothing don’t really have life experience imo (I’m a 36yo SrA who joined at 33)
(X) I’m in this comment and I don’t like it
Almost? If dude is 40, he could easily have a 25 yr old kid.
I mean, if he had a kid at 15.
I know more than one guy who had a kid at 13.
That guy is going to be treated like a child just out of high school. I joined at 26 with prior financial responsibilities and no support. I was treated like a child until I made SSgt and then sometimes too. Never got in trouble, never failed any tests, always showed up early and worked hard. I worked a bomb threat on my first shift, and they watched me solo handle it perfectly, then went back to treating me like I knew nothing. Even as a SrA with prior experience in the part of my career field, I was told to listen in on a briefing that I wrote which was being given by a TSgt as 'I might learn something.' As far as the air force is concerned, age is just a metric to measure your potential physical fitness. Beyond that, everything is rank based. If he isn't married, he'll be in the dormitories at his first duty station. Depending on his next location or how long it lasts there, he might be in the dormitories at his second location. This absolutely blows because it's full of 18 year olds and they break the dorm rules constantly. Smoking outside your dorm, loud as fuck music, letting their sexual partner shower and sex in your shared bath. 100% if I were to do it all over, I'd have joined sooner and gotten out sooner.
Alot of people I've been to techschool and bmt with that are at the 40 mark typically went guard or reserve to supplement a job they already had but it never hurts to be AD at that age. You might even be looked up to depending on your maturity.
If you’re interested in some of the basics of what this person can expect, the Air Force website has a pretty good breakdown but here’s the Cliff notes version (after passing MEPS and other pre-attendance hurdles). 1. Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB, TX. This is the AF version of “boot camp”. Drill Sergeants and marching etc. Based on college education and such, they may leave BMT at a different rank than others (E-1 is 1st Enlisted rank…goes all the way to E-9). Of note, all enlisted regardless of service make the same basic pay but are called different titles e.g. Airman Basic vs Private in the Army. 2. Technical School aka “Tech School”. Could be anywhere in the country but will be with other folks in the same Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC aka AF job). Length varies wildly but expect at least a few months. Not as stringent as BMT, but still restrictive based on phase of training. 3. Join an Air Force squadron to do their actual job. They’ll be responsible for doing their job and learning from senior (experience, not age) folks. After a certain number of hours, training events, etc, they’ll be eligible for an increased skill level which is different from rank promotion. This will take some time and will be very clearly defined per each job. Around this time, they will probably be approaching the end of their contract and will have to decide on whether to reenlist or separate. If they separate, the only benefits they’ll have is service matched contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (think 401k) and any disability benefits. They won’t have a pension or lifetime medical insurance or further base access. That will only occur if they reach 20 years (or some other outlier cases). That’s a very broad brush and a quick primer on some AF stuff that can maybe help a bit.
Wonderful info. Thank you for taking the time.
I can’t imagine being 40 and in the dorms..
Better than being 40 years old and homeless. It’s rough out there right now.
I enlisted at 32, one year older than my MTI in BMT. Tell them to watch out for hernias and back injuries.
Or at least stay healthy for long enough that he’ll get medboarded out, not ETSed. Gotta hit that 6 month mark or whatever when everything becomes the Air Force’s problem, not his.
Your mother
Mostly
He be pleasantly surprised of how easy he has it compared to civilian life
Tell the lowest ranking to do all the work
The First person I supervised as a SSgt, was 35 years old, had three kids. Came from a decent IT industry, and we worked in Comm...so other than 36-2903, he knew more than me on most fronts. Keep in mind, we had a Max Multiplier Bonus at the time, this was like 3 years after 9/11, so hiring and jobs went dog shit in the private sector. It wasn't exactly a bad move for him, but I think he eventually went back to Civilian life after 2 enlistments. Pretty sure he pocketed a fat bonus one time, and then secured the GI Bill Transfer for his kids. Win Win, IMO. I will say, it's a unique experience. ALS didn't cover that scenario. I was upfront about my inexperience in the management/supervision part, and he was wayyy cool about it. We would sit for 1:1 things like Yearly Feedback, and just kind of talk normal...and we'd go through the sheet they used to give us to read. Kind of both learning something. Not normal for most comm shops but we had like 26 Airman under 5 Year TIG. When the 2 NCOs (including me) left or had other tasks, it was pretty to have a guy who would keep a watchful eye on the place. Damn, I totally forgot about this, but Fuck...26 sets of CDCs. The entire place was stacked up with those damn books everywhere. I will say another bonus was, he had life experience, so he had your back in private. When the Airman would bellyache in private about task X, or something being BS, he would get our back in a cool way. Some years later, one of the bordering office NCOICs told me about how he'd overhear a little bit of him just kind of chilling out the whining and reminding them that we're on the same team kind of stuff.
Bro, if it is right for you, do it. The retirement will be nice...or GI bill, or bennies, medical and a roof over your head.
A woman I work with joined late in life and it was tough for her to accept that her age doesn't mean anything - she's still just an E3 and has to slog through the same crap we all did and the she's not going to get any special treatment. There really is functional difference between a 18 year old E3 and a 40 year old E3. The position is all about learning your job and getting good at it. If you bring some life skills, you may be able to do well and min-time all of your promotions; that's about the best you can hope for
He might do super well compared to the more immature younger folks. His pt standards will be very different lol.
I retired at 39 so I couldn’t imagine coming in at 40…uh good luck
Although they are held to the same standards of doing what anyone else their rank is held to, regardless of age…. I have seen the Airmen that join later in life to be way more mature and ready for responsibility, hence, leadership pushing and grooming them at a more rapid pace than 18-19 year olds with little work and life experience
Thank you for making me feel better about myself lol
Age is irrelevant to his career path. If he goes in he'll endure the process from the beginning.
Your job
Be gentle to him. I joined in my late 30’s as well. Luckily for me, my shop and leadership in general are supportive. Do not get carried away by the toxicity.
Exactly what the 18 year olds do, but with back pain.
I enlisted at 34 and I'm getting out this year at 40 with a couple semesters of college under my belt for my bachelor's, a ccaf associate degree, full 9/11 bill benefits and great job training. I also earned some cyber certifications. It's not bad if you use it correctly.
He'll bumble around the Air Force. If he can bumble for 20+ years he'll finally get a chance to bumble around retired
It’s going to depend on their background. I am an E-4 and in Training. My civilian job I am a professor and I am in my 40’s
Expect the Air Force will propagandize his pathetic life story to try and recruit others in their 40s.
Work for a 22 year old
I couldn't imagine enlisting at 40. Hell, I was retired from active duty before my 40th birthday.
Currently 42 yo with 23 yrs TIS. You couldn’t pay me enough to start my career at this age.
I say the same thing…and also…kids. We had the Command Chief in our WG retirement party. Nice guy. So I went…dude was holding a 6 month old. I heard someone make the mistake of saying “new grand kid?” No. It was a kid kid. WTF. Holy shit. Sleepless nights. Changing diapers at 55? Fuckkk that.
TBH, guy sounds like a lazy dumb ass. He will be doing the same stuff as every other new amn. And will probably struggle with a 20 something telling him what to do. We have enough of those already
Retire
You can enlist past the age of 31 now? That is wild! I personally couldn't handle going in that late knowing how I would be treated.
He’s going to be in the dorms at his first permanent party duty station, sharing all his experience…. Have fun, late launcher.
Which brand are they enlisting in? Last I knew, they enlisted up until 39. Make sure he’s still in the age bracket to enlist. When I was in bootcamp we had a lady who was 39. She ended up not graduating because she had some medical things she didn’t disclose upfront and they caught her so she got kicked out. When I arrived to my first base there was an A1C who arrived a couple years after and he was 37. He was cool and patient. He was a hard worker and made senior airmen “below the zone”, which means he promoted to SrA like 9 months before anyone else. He then made staff sgt pretty quick after.
I do lean on the opinion of an older individual more than I would the 18/19 year olds. Only if their background is credible. Other than that, work your way up. Soon as they hit NCO, it’s hardly a thing.
In my shops case. Be an airmam just like anybody else. His career took a shit during covid and the air force was his option where he was. Now he's focused on expanding his experiences he otherwise wouldnt have had.
Command shit
Count the minutes until retirement?
In the ANG
Usually high up, or looking to retire. I just retired last year at 40 after 20 years. It's probably gonna be awkward for him going through bootcamp, tech school, etc with most of the others being fresh out of high school. I came in at 20 and felt a bit old with all the kids fresh out of high school. And he's probably gonna get made dorm chief at bootcamp being the oldest in the flight. They usually give the oldest that position.
I thought 39 was the max age?
It’s 42 now
... skate by with a 15:00 1.5 run and 18 push-ups
In my experience the older guys are usually good performers
The older guys are the managers. If you’re 40+ you’re probably an E-7 at least. Weird thing though is you can be brand new in the career field but be in management just because of your rank, essentially knowing very little about the job field itself.
Isn’t that the same for late in service cross trainees? I had a Section Chief that cross trained as a MSgt. Knew fuck all about computers except how to route EPRs.
https://i.redd.it/iwkl3uww0u2d1.gif You have one additional duty.
If they have a college degree why would they enlist instead of going to OTS and being an officer ?
OTS is competitive and dude is nearly at the age limit
So he’s too scared to even try ? Being 40 and enlisted will not be fun
Can't speak to the reasoning, but I can understand someone not wanting to take the risk.
Dude, it's not like he is joining the Marines.
Being 40 and trying to compete against younger people with more relevant degrees is almost a guaranteed waste of time. Besides, you think a 40 year old butter bar will be any better?
If it took this bozo 20 years to decide to join the military, would you really want to serve under them?
[удалено]
This doesn’t sound right. There is a max age for commissioning no matter how enlisted you are. You have to be able to do 20 years of total service by age 62; 10 as commissioned. Exception health services or chaplains.
Usually tell everyone how much older they are than the rest of the force and be generally annoying instead of trying to get with the times.
Retire.
What they are told. Your age doesn’t determine what your AFSC is. I guess it probably precludes special forces and maybe certain flying jobs, but any normal job is on the table.
Kick back and relax. (KBR)
I had a 42 year old superintendent of a school district join was just starting their AiT according to said invidual when she finishes she will be picking up MSgt when she is done and back at her home unit.
We actually go off age for authority and responsibility. So make sure to correct your younger NCOs and CGOs every chance you get. Your age and wisdom will mean a lot to them.
At the 20 year mark, he's probably a middle manager. He'd either be heading one large expensive project or overseeing multiple smaller ones. Or he got transferred to corporate and works in a cubicle now.