Army extends maximum recruitment age to 42, allowing older recruits to join
The U.S. Army is expanding its recruiting pool, raising the maximum enlistment age from 35 years old to 42, according to new service regulations reviewed by ABC News.
The move isn’t without precedent. The service lifted the cap to 42 years old in 2006, during the height of the Iraq War, before lowering it back to 35 a decade later.
Bringing the limit back up puts the Army more in line with the Air Force and Navy regulations, which both cap enlistment at 41. The Marine Corps caps recruits at 28 years old, though older applicants can potentially enlist with special permission.
Two sources familiar with the decision told ABC News the change has been in the works for months and is not tied to the ongoing war with Iran. Instead, it reflects a longer-term effort by the Army to widen the recruiting pipeline amid persistent shortfalls.
The average age of recruits is going up marginally, going from 21 years old in 2010 to nearly 23 years old last year, service data reviewed by ABC News shows.
Additionally, the Army will now allow enlistments of individuals with only one marijuana-related conviction.
The biggest hurdle with recruiting is an increasingly shrinking pool of eligible candidates, according to the Pentagon.
The Pentagon has estimated that only about 23% of young Americans ( between the ages of 17 and 24 years old) are eligible to serve. Much of this is due to academic performance on the military’s SAT-style entrance test, obesity and criminal records.
