37 years is anything except normal, however looking him up (he is trivially found on Facebook) he retired as an E-9. That rank is exempted from Time In Service

37 years is anything except normal, however looking him up (he is trivially found on Facebook) he retired as an E-9. That rank is exempted from Time In Service (TIS) limits as they serve all Commanders as advisory and enlisted liaisons. He also states he is retired Civil Service, so they may be conflating that time. In other words, he probably served for 37 years but a huge chunk of that was likely as a Flag (Admiral/General) advisor and liaison, not as a firefighter, and some as a DOD Civilian. As for the cancer, some cancers can be cleared by a Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) and allow further service. I served with an individual who got brain cancer at ~30 and went on to finish his career and retire at 40.