Air Force and Space Force Raise Their Maximum Enlistment Age to 42
Perhaps there are some silver linings in this announcement.
Over the course of the Biden administration, our team has covered the collapse of military recruitment numbers in the wake of woke policies and useless covid vaccine mandates. The U.S. military has become less attractive as a career option for the type of men and women who would typically be inclined to serve.
The Air Force and Space Force have responded by raising the maximum enlistment age to 42 years.
Aspiring airmen and guardians now have until the age of 42 to join the Department of the Air Force.
Department leadership quietly upped the age limit for new enlisted and officer recruits by three years on Oct. 25. The change arrives around a month after the Air Force missed its recruiting target for the first time since 1999.
“This opens the aperture to allow more Americans the opportunity to serve,” Leslie Brown, the chief of public affairs for the Air Force recruiting service, wrote in an email to Air Force Times. “The accession age of 42 allows an Airman or Guardian to serve a full 20 years since the retirement age is 62.”
The development appears to be in response to the Air Force missing its recruitment goals for the first time in over 20 years and follows in the wake of a similar move recently made by the Navy.
The increase in the enlistment age comes nearly one month after the Air Force announced it missed its active-duty enlistment goals for the first time since 1999. Other services have also taken the same approach in recent months.
In November, the Navy raised its maximum enlistment age from 39 to 41, citing the need to “widen the pool of potential recruits, creating opportunities for personnel who wish to serve, but were previously unable due to age.”
The sea service’s change made it the Department of Defense branch with the oldest potential recruits, but now that distinction goes to the Air Force and Space Force. The Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, also changed its maximum enlistment age to 42 in November.
In fiscal 2023, which ended last month, the Air Force missed its enlisted active-duty recruiting goals by 11%, getting only 24,100 of the enlisted airmen out of the 26,877 it needed.
I have a few thoughts on the subject, given that my son is poised to graduate from the United States Air Force Academy this May. The first one as a deep concern that the unrest spreading throughout the globe is likely to require a more robust U.S. military than we currently have. So many entities appear to be gearing up for military actions that have the potential to expand beyond the usual regional conflicts.
And while that thought is troubling, perhaps there are also some silver linings. Men and women in their later 30’s and early 40’s are less likely, I believe, to be besotted with Tik Tok and other social media. Therefore, they are likely to be mentally and physically healthier.
Biden’s economy is putting an enormous squeeze on families. Perhaps there will be new opportunities for some slightly less young adults to learn new skills and get a regular paycheck, whereas opportunities for work and advancement might be currently limited by Bidenomics. Furthermore, I suspect that many potential recruits in their 30’s and early 40’s may have talent stacks that may prove useful to this nation’s security.
And being older sometimes means being wiser. Our military would certainly benefit from more focus on job and duty, and less on personal and political narratives.
Here’s hoping that this is a positive development for the Air Force and Space Force. However, I will be praying that there will be a new military leadership team put in place after the 2024 election . . . one less focused on social justice, diversity, and gender identity.
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Comments
I enlisted in the Air Force at 17. By 21 I was a Staff Sergeant. I was promoted to Chief in my late 30’s.
At the time I enlisted, most people did not want to join the military post-Vietnam, following Jimmuh Carter as the CinC. Those who did in many cases were those who couldn’t hold down a job and enlisted at 22 to 24 yo.
That meant that few 24 yo men wanted to listen to a 21 yo Staff Sergeant, let alone a 21 yo 2nd Lieutenant.
So, now we expect a 42 yo to follow orders of much younger men… especially given the fact that few enlistees have the same level of emotional intelligence that men had in the 80’s?
Good luck with this experiment.
I was bored with school so I enlisted at 19 and served eight years, mostly on F/FB-111 avionics, then sixteen years AL ANG on RF-4 sensor systems. Many of my buddies in the Guard were, like me, 30+ years old, most locals, most with military experience. We had no problems between the ranks, probably because the atmosphere in our Guard unit was pretty laid back and very professional. I agree, however, that some guy around 40 might be an attitude problem until he figured out that the mission is more important than his desires.
Wait until those forties get into the ranks and see the woke BS that passes for “training” these days. With seventeen years total, there’s a reason my son walked away from the TN Guard after Iraq (twice) and Afghanistan (once). Aside from the PTSD, he couldn’t tolerate the zampolits.
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Someone has to say it. One of the things holding people from the pool of those normally most likely to enlist, i.e. patriotic, idealistic, and with a love of the ideals of America, back from enlisting is a very rational fear that the government that commands the military not only does not share those ideals; but in fact is willing and eager to use the military against those who hold those ideals.
In my youth [and rumors to the contrary, no the Navy did not still use sailing ships then] I worked my butt off to get an appointment to Annapolis. And I eventually convinced a US Senator to be willing to appoint me if I could pass the test. Having done my SAT’s, that would not have been a problem. What was the problem was scoliosis that disqualified me from any military service.
But if back in those days the relationship between the State and the people was like it is today, I would have saved myself all of that work.
Subotai Bahadur
I served 20 years 14 days … I tell young people today
DO NOT join the military … I point to the clot shot and
the woke agenda I tell em go to trade school.
I remind kids who ask me about joining that our withdrawal from Afghanistan is a reminder that the days of leaving no one behind is now over.
We prided ourselves on protecting civilians and family members during any withdrawal, and the military was the last out.
This administration will leave on a dime, forgetting that there are people who need to be evacuated. Then they want to charge for any assistance in removing them from hostile territory.
I admit that I was inoculated against many illnesses as I traveled the globe. I took those shots without question because I trusted that the side affects of the inoculation was better than whatever disease I could get if I didn’t take the shot.
I don’t trust the government any longer.
sir I also took more shots then I can remember but they were NOT experimental… they were tested and retested. once with the swine flu killed just a few people the whole thing was shut down.
but that was before people worried if Pharma would make any money. also Pharma was never protected from lawsuits.
I refused to be a lab rat.
I fully concur. There was a level of trust and respect that what was injected into our bodies was for our benefit, not the benefit of Big Pharma.
The clot shot was, and still is, an unknown substance with poor outcomes.
You must have gotten out before the anthrax shitshow. I’m 100% P/T because of it and it taught me to steer clear of the clotshot the way they were pushing it, seen it before.
“The U.S. military has become less attractive as a career option for the type of men and women who would typically be inclined to serve. The Air Force and Space Force have responded by raising the maximum enlistment age to 42 years.”
This makes as much sense as a Mexican restaurant losing bookings due to a run of unfavorable health inspections deciding that a great way to reverse the sag in attendance would be to add a sushi bar.
🤢🤢🤢🤮
As others have pointed out here and elsewhere there is a drop off in recruiting from the demographic subsets which traditionally comprised our all volunteer force. Until their perception of DoD hostility to them and their traditional beliefs (which were mainstream until 10 minutes ago) changes the recruiting shortages will continue.
So far the DoD has rolled out:
1. A reduction in overall standards
2. Fat camp prior to basic training for otherwise qualified recruits to lose weight in a structured environment
3. Raised the max age for enlistment eligibility
IMO it won’t be long before resumption of a draft is seriously considered. It has already been discussed as a potential/eventual step should recruiting for the all volunteer force not increase back to sustainable levels.
If the draft is reinstated, it should also apply to all females. If any military age males or females refuse to register for selective service, then they should not be permitted to receive student loan guarantees.
There are plenty of jobs that women can d in the military, especially for those who don’t want to be infantry or other operational positions.
But they should be required to serve.
Equality, don’t you know!
Absolutely. There is zero reason why everyone still under age of maximum enlistment, now 42, shouldn’t be required to register for selective service.
That would require the DOD to recognize that there are only two genders and do away with all the woke bullshit and transgender crap.
How so? Making an age based, gender immaterial requirement to register with selective service doesn’t force a departure. Nor would actually drafting folks. Young Mr Snuffy gets a draft notice turning him/her/it into Private Snuffy and gets sent to the Infantry Basic (OSUT). If he/she/it passes the course of training they go to a unit. If not they get recycled till they do or get discharged. Given the likely odds of whiny ass excuses and drama the young folks unable to hack the course will employ the discharge is likely to be less than honorable.
Sabotai: I was in the Naval Reserve, served a couple of short stints. Eyesight kept me from NROTC. So, I am still available when the age limit is raised to include me and my 93 year old cohorts. I could skip pilot training if they install Gatling guns on Cubs and Cessnas (170s)..
So desperate they’re opening it up to middle-aged guys that get winded running around the block. Kek.
Not to dig on my fellow airman, but many of them got winded in their 20’s during PT.
😏
Don’t see the problem with Space Force. Wasn’t Mr. Spock well over 100?
I can’t wait for the recruiting photos depicting multicolored, old fat trannies.
Many trannies are in good shape after playing girl’s sports.
Average Age of Ukrainian Soldiers Is Past 40
https://russialist.org/average-age-of-ukrainian-soldiers-is-past-40-and-that-could-be-a-problem/
Well when you have 500,000 KIA it’s tough finding good help for the meat grinder.
Or we could mandate military service for all illegal immigrants. After all, most of them crossing our border were males of military age.
If they get the idea that mandatory military service is waiting as they cross the border, they may think twice.
As each requests any public assistance they should be turned over to DoD.
That would not turn out well for us, because the left would use them on US soil against those not on the left, MAGA, Christians, Jews ect. Illegals will do anything to get that citizenship and would not think twice about mowing down people deemed “The domestic enemy” by the people in charge.
Wud not b the first time citizenship was offered to ppl joining the military
During the civil war lots of Irish joined the us army.
Even today lots of Filipinos join the navy and serve.
Some of the best.
I’m an Air Force vet – I’ve been in and with the USAF since 1977. I used to recommend a career in the military to young people and family, but after seeing what my service has degenerated into I now discourage it. I completely understand why they can’t recruit and retain the kind of people we need.