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Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Age waiver
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Question
QUESTION: Is it possible to enlist in the Navy or Coast Guard at 35 yrs ? I have a B.A and an M.A degree.
Also what are the chances of ascending from enlisted to officer in both branches?
Thanks!
ANSWER: Hi Philip,
See my enlistment qualification article at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/enlstandards.htm.
At your current age, you qualify for non-prior-service enlistment in the active duty Army, the Army Reserves, the Army National Guard, and the Navy Reserves. I'm afraid that non-prior service enlistment age waivers (while possible) are pretty rare.
The maximum age for a (non-medical) officer commission for non-prior-service, in any of the branches is age 35, at the time of commission. Considering the OCS/OTS selection boards often take a year or more, plus 90 (or so) days of training, I believe you're too old for a chance of commission in any of the branches. You should have made your decision a year or two earlier in life......
For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information Site at: http://usmilitary.about.com.
Hope this helps!
Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks - I should have mentioned that I just got my greencard and therefore could not have joined any of the branches before.I was really asking about enlisting , not as an officer, but I presume the answer is the same ...(?)
Philip.
Hi Phillip,
Yep. The maximum age for non-prior service *enlistment* for all the branches can be found in my ariticle at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/enlstandards.htm..
For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information site at: http://usmilitary.about.com.
Hope this helps!
Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com
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Answers by Expert:
Rod Powers
Expertise
Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.
Experience
Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.
Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).
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