Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 3/1/2009

Question
My son just rec'd his BS in criminal justice, has been in the NAVY (TAR program) active duty for 7 years and is 27. He has no ship time(color blind) but does have war zone time. He is being told that he is too old to be commissioned. Is this true?

Answer
Martha,
Sounds like your son is not getting the whole story.  Who told him that?  If it was a recruiter, he should run, not walk, to another Navy recruiter, maybe in a nearby town.

Because you question is "public" I'll explain the TAR program because others reading this may not know and they may need the same info.  The Navy Training and Administration of Reserves (TAR) Program is a special program open to qualified Navy veterans to serve on full time active duty to manage, train and administer Naval Reserve personnel.  TAR assignments are usually at shore activities, air squadrons,  or aboard Navy Reserve Force ships homeported in the U.S.

It depends on his career field.  The age limit for a pilot (1395) is 29.
The age limit for NFO (1375), SWO (1165), SEAL (1185), and EOD (1195) is 31
The maximum age limit by federal law is 35 with a waiver for the following designators: AMDO (1525), INTEL (1635), CRYPTO (1645), PAO (1655), OCEANO (1805), SUPPLY (3105), and CEC (5105).  

With his degree he is eligible for most fields.  To find out more, have him look at the web site: http://www.navy.com/careers/officerplanner/
There under careers here will find the "Officer Planner" that will walk him through the steps necessary to become a Navy officer.  Also on this same web site (at the bottom) he'll find "Chat 1-on-1 which is a highly personalized forum that gives you the chance to ask a Navy expert questions about career opportunities, Navy life and anything Navy-related.  If a recruiter told him he was too old, then you definitely need to talk to them one-on-one at this site.
Best of luck, and thanks for wanting to continue to serve your country.
Colonel H