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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This was almost twenty years ago but there were older recruits that went through basic training when I went through.  Probably 30ish and up range.

In terms of basic training, the physical requirements are based off of age groups.  So a forty year old doesn't have to meet the same standard as a twenty year old to pass a physical fitness test.

What the previous poster saying about getting pass intake is true though.  Where I think it took some of the older people a while to pass the initial test to get into basic so were stuck at the inprocessing station for a while.  If I recall correctly it was the push up requirement and maybe weight.

Then physical things aside, it's if your friend will be willing to put up with all the things that you have to in basic and afterwards as well.  ie always having people shouting at you, telling you what to do, etc.  Also if they're going enlisted they'll probably be surrounded by 18 year olds, who are easily impressionable, first time away from home, etc.

Things are different nowadays but there was also the stigma of why some people joined the military back then (this was before 9/11 and all of the patriotism that followed).  And I remember one of the drill sergeants got into it with one of the older guys in front of everyone saying how he must have really been a screw up to be joining the military that late in life.[/quote]

There were some older people when I went through basic as well although most of them were reserve/national guard.  I went through basic training several years ago and while it is true that the physical fitness standards decrease as you get older the training regimen is geared towards getting the majority (i.e. the 18-21 year olds) to pass the fitness test.  OP's friend could probably run with the Delta group which is mostly overweight people and do fine there.  There's still battalion runs where everyone runs together as well as non-running workouts although I guess OP's friend could just half step that and maybe catch some flack from the drill sergeant.

Also, not all basic training programs are equal.  Fort Benning was far more rigorous than ol' Relaxin Jackson back then.  The rigorousness of the physical training in AIT will also vary based upon MOS.

OP didn't mention whether the friend was enlisting or commissioning (do they still offer direct commissions?) and there's a huge difference in both the rigor and the bullshit factor between being enlisted and commissioned.[/quote]

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