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Regular army and reserve components enlistment program: Summary of change
- Jimmc414 7mo agoPage 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”
- zippyman55 7mo agoThey are having problems meeting the fitness standard right now. It seems these tests just get harder as you age.
- hsbauauvhabzb 7mo agoPresumably 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.
- kibwen 7mo agoNote 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_218-25__CC__Annex_B_-_Scoring_Tables__Final_.pdf https://www.goarmy.com/content/dam/goarmy/files/HQDA_EXORD_2...
- yoyohello13 7mo agoThe 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.
- michaelteter 7mo agoIf you’re being drafted, chances are you had no desire to be joining the army.
- nullsanity 7mo ago[dead]
- throwaway290 7mo agoNobody's being drafted because there's no draft in US since vietnam war
- toomuchtodo 7mo agoAre you registered for Selective Service? If a draft occurs, which is likely rare but certainly possible under current circumstances, your options will be flee the country or elect conscientious objector status and experience whatever treatment you will experience from doing so. https://www.sss.gov/ https://www.sss.gov/
- mlrtime 7mo ago[flagged]
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- ggm 7mo ago[flagged]
- SilverElfin 7mo agoIt’s crazy that Hegseth has a Christian nationalist tattoo on his chest. And watching him bully the Boy Scouts into becoming a “god centric” program, the Nazi Christian vibes are strong.
- dismalaf 7mo ago> It’s crazy that Hegseth has a Christian nationalist tattoo on his chest Who on earth thinks a Jerusalem cross is a "Christian nationalist" symbol? https://www.pieceofholyland.com/blogs/christian-articles/the-jerusalem-cross https://www.pieceofholyland.com/blogs/christian-articles/the... Edit - to respond to some of the replies all at once: - German swastika is literally a different symbol than Buddhist and Hindu swastikas - If Hegseth is actually proclaiming he's an extremist maybe use that proclamation as evidence rather than demonising a cross motif that existed nearly a millennia before the United States - And whoever thinks the crusades were about slaughtering non-believers seems to not know anything about history, Jerusalem was Christian for centuries before Mohammed was even born and the Muslims were the invaders... - It's extremely hypocritical to call Christian symbols "extremist" or whatever while giving a pass to symbols from a certain other religion that's particularly fond of conquest and has conquered significantly more previously Christian regions than the reverse...
- defrost 7mo agoHegseth thinks that. The shooter who committed the 2019 New Zealand mosque massacre thought that. Fellow members and leaders of Hegseth's National Guard unit thought that. Crusader symbols in general have grown popular with many far-right nationalists, who see the imagery as a nod to an era of European Christian wars against Muslims and Jews. Contemporary usage of symbols is often at odds with and regardless of any historic original back story and meaning. Of possible interest: https://religionunplugged.com/news/pete-hegseth-trumps-defense-secretary-nominee-has-multiple-christian-and-crusades-inspired-tattoos https://religionunplugged.com/news/pete-hegseth-trumps-defen... and: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/pete-hegseth-christian-nationalism-networks https://www.thebulwark.com/p/pete-hegseth-christian-national... Addendum: > If Hegseth is actually proclaiming he's an extremist ... Nope, he's always banging on about being a Proud, Patriotic, American, Christian, Nationalist. I can't say I've ever heard him proclaim himself to be an extremist ... save perhaps in the extreme love of God and America he professes to have. You can hear him Capitalise the words as he spits them forth.
- vermilingua 7mo agoFinding it hard to compete with the rigorous ICE recruitment standards?
- rdtsc 7mo agoWhat would this have to do with ICE? Isn’t that DHS?
- ricksunny 7mo agoSame recruitment pool (like same "hiring pool" / market segment). Therefore, competing.
- kay_o 7mo agoI think it is a joke of there is no requirement's ..
- snowchaser 7mo agoI think they mean (sarcastically) that ICE is sucking up all the qualified candidates.
- tjpnz 7mo ago>Run: 1.5-mile run in 14 minutes 25 seconds or less Hilarious.
- _345 7mo agoThat'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
- loeg 7mo agoAm I crazy? Isn't it 9:40 pace?
- bryanlarsen 7mo agoHow 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.
- TurdF3rguson 7mo ago> They'll have to start taking harassment seriously if they want to recruit more young women. Yeah, um.. about that...
- aaron695 7mo ago[dead]
- 2postsperday 7mo ago[dead]
- janalsncm 7mo agoThe document seems to be about convictions for marijuana possession, not usage.
- nullsanity 7mo ago[dead]
- TJSomething 7mo agoGiven Sec. Hegseth's record, I don't think he really wants women in the military.
- aaronbrethorst 7mo agoGiven Sec. Hegseth’s tattoos, I don’t think he wants himself in there either
- ricksunny 7mo agoI wonder how many of Gulf War II's 17-19-year-olds they'll get to re-enlist.
- jmyeet 7mo agoSo 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.
- shartshooter 7mo agoWhen 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
- michaelteter 7mo agoIf they want to draft any significant number of people, they will have to greatly lower the fitness standards.
- conception 7mo agoThey should just deploy ICE.
- SirFatty 7mo agoyeah, just not the National Guard! https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/overweight-texas-national-guard-troops-sent-home-san-antonio-secretary-war-pete-hegseth-military-task-purpose https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/overweight-texas-nati...
- pogue 7mo ago77% 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-americans-too-fat-mentally-ill-on-drugs-and-more-to-join-military-pentagon-study-finds/ https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/03/77-of-young-america...
- randycupertino 7mo agoLucky 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-ethos-physical-fitness/ 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.
- silisili 7mo agoSurprised 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.
- nemomarx 7mo agoI think the timing makes it harder to view this optimistically? although for voluntary enlistment I'm not personally concerned yeah.
- ryanmcbride 7mo agoYeah it sounds great if you make up positive scenarios in your head for sure
- gotwaz 7mo agoFarms need fit 40 year olds too.
- chii 7mo ago> Surprised comments are so negative it's because people cannot disassociate their own anti-war views with the benefits of a military career.
- soulofmischief 7mo agoAre 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?
- applfanboysbgon 7mo agoWhat 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?
- whatsupdog 7mo agoAnd Americans were laughing when Russia was doing something similar. Pot calling the kettle black.
- garbagepatch 7mo agoI'm sure plenty Americans are also laughing at this. No hypocrisy here.
- soulofmischief 7mo agoAmerica 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.
- weird_tentacles 7mo ago[dead]
- porcoda 7mo agoEffective April 20? Sometimes these days it’s hard to distinguish reality from The Onion.
- aroman 7mo ago> Effective 20 April 2026 Oh, come on.
- ChaitanyaSai 7mo agoI thought you were joking about the date! They actually picked that one :)
- protocolture 7mo agoWhats the significance
- leosanchez 7mo ago420
- t2o324234234 7mo ago[flagged]
- llmthrow0827 7mo agoSeems 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.
- franczesko 7mo ago+ a war for another country
- thoi234293847 7mo ago[flagged]
- UltraSane 7mo ago2003? Really?
- UltraSane 7mo agoI 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.
- Bender 7mo agoI get why you are saying that but historically those that enlisted ended up with better roles and less likely to serve in the infantry unless of course one wish to do that. This of course assumes the draft is actually utilized.
- UltraSane 7mo agoThe draft is not going to happen, especially under Trump.
- 7mo ago
- xbmcuser 7mo agoWe 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.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- righthand 7mo agoWW3 is already here, there are more conflicts today than WW2 ever had. No reason to think some worse event is going to happen we’re already knee deep.
- jmward01 7mo agoI'd rather the old go to war before the young, even if they are worse at it.
- michaelteter 7mo agoWe are all better off going to war with (against) the people trying to send us off to unjustified wars.
- jmward01 7mo agoThat 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.
- TurdF3rguson 7mo agoSometimes unjustified wars can have pretty big up-sides though. Preventing jihadists from getting nukes for example is potentially a huge up-side.
- NekkoDroid 7mo agoThere is then also an upside to go to war with the white/christian nationalists fundamentalists in the white house, to get them away from nukes.
- TurdF3rguson 7mo agoIf you don't see the difference between christians and jihadists you're hopeless.
- NekkoDroid 7mo agoThey provide the same threat to me. So their differences makes little difference.
- KnuthIsGod 7mo ago[flagged]
- michaelteter 7mo ago[dead]
- BLKNSLVR 7mo agoThey all joined ICE. And they wouldn't be the types to sign up to face an opponent who is more dangerous than a young mother driving their kids to school or a uni student walking home.
- 0xy 7mo agoRecruitment targets in 2025 were exceeded at 103% of target, so this seems misinformed. All 5 branches met target, the highest in 15 years.
- bonsai_spool 7mo ago
- aaronbrethorst 7mo agoSadly Pete Hegseth is 45.
- budman1 7mo agoprior service. the max age is different.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- mrtksn 7mo agoWhat 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?
- BobbyJo 7mo agoI 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.
- mrtksn 7mo agoI 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. They don't appear to be ideologues but demagogues. Maybe its some more primal urge to kill and get killed and Trump has control over it?
- testfoobar 7mo ago"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-low-fuel-prices-surge-amid-iran-war-reutersipsos-2026-03-24/ https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-approval-hits-new-36...
- jmyeet 7mo agoThe 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-standards/ https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-recruiting-afqt-asvab-s... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Services_Vocational_Aptitude_Battery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Services_Vocational_Apti...
- cko 7mo agoIn 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.
- vntx 7mo agoI 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.
- jazzyjackson 7mo agoGood 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.
- jrs235 7mo ago"I travelled around the world!" "What did you get to see and experience?" "Mostly a lot of grey metal, water as far as the eye could see, and sea and home sickness."
- relaxing 7mo agoHow did the Navy recruiting office turn you away from joining up?
- vntx 7mo agoThe Navy guy tried too hard to sell the upsides without telling me any of the downsides and I knew there were a lot of downsides. Said my asvab score could get me in nuke and great pay, that I could see the world. The Air Froce guy told me like it was. Guess who I trusted more?
- pianopatrick 7mo agoMaybe one of the lessons the American government learned from the war in Ukraine is that middle aged men can fight wars too.
- jjk166 7mo agoThere'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.
- Animats 7mo agoUp 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 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SLUEM1524ZSUSA [2] https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-03-24-2026 https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-03-24-2026
- novia 7mo agoAs a 37 year old who has been growing more patriotic and willing to serve with age, I'm excited about having the option.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- righthand 7mo agoWell then get your form signing pen out for April 20 soldier there’s an illegal war that needs bodies on the ground to take some hits right in the patriotism.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- analognoise 7mo agoWho 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 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/coast-guard-swastika-noose/ 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-back-new-drone-company-targeting-pentagon-sales-2f74abca 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/4417012/hegseth-says-scouting-america-support-to-continue-upon-orgs-commitment-to-drop/ 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-charlie-erika-kirk/ 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-arrives-in-souda-bay-for-repairs-after-laundry-room-fire 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...
- dinkumthinkum 7mo ago[flagged]
- analognoise 7mo ago...how did you get "hate Christians" from this? I'm not a fan of any religious extremism, and it should have less than zero influence over any of our politics. Christian Nationalists are in the same vein as ISIS. You're minimizing "The Files", and it sounds like you're confused by the timeline (both of which are gross); it isn't some "disingenuous" way to "score political points", these people were absolutely disgusting, but what always strikes me about that is that the MAGA set can't fathom that if a leftist was in the files we'd want them prosecuted too - because they're fundamentally immoral people. We made an actual LAW about those files - that it's being ignored, and MAGA sees it as "points" rather than disgusting people that need to be brought to justice, is a deep indication of moral rot.
- KnuthIsGod 7mo agohttps://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=April+20 https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=April+20 April 20: National Get High day. Age 42.0 St Elon is risen and is now running Army recruitment.
- KnuthIsGod 7mo agoUnfortunately the age limit means that Mr Trump and Mr Hegseth are ineligible...
- mna_ 7mo agoTheir sons however!
- anticensor 7mo agoThey would be medically unfit (NATO health class D) even if the age was unlimited.
- budman1 7mo agoHegseth could dry out for a few weeks and then might pass the physical.
- sph 7mo agoBorn too early to go to war in the Middle East Born too late to go to war in the Middle East Born just in time to go to war in the Middle East