US Army increases maximum enlistment age to 42

The U.S. Army increased its maximum enlistment age to 42, up from 35.Individuals up to age 42, regardless of prior military service, can enlist in the Regular Army, the Army National Guard, and the Army Reserves, according to the updated Army Regulation 601-210 published on Friday, Stars and Stripes reported.
The updated enlistment age follows the Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, which all accept recruits up to age 42. The Navy accepts recruits up to age 41, but the Marine Corps only accepts enlisted recruits up to 28 years old.
Officials said that, in recent years, the Army had capped the enlistment age at 35, although it did accept some older recruits with waivers. The policy did not change the Army’s minimum ages for enlisting, which are 18 or 17 with parental permission.
The Army had temporarily increased its maximum enlistment age to 42 in 2006 amid the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but dropped its maximum enlistment age back to 35 in 2016. The Air Force and Space Force were the most recent services to raise their maximum enlistment age in 2023 when they increased it from 39 to 42 during a years-long recruiting slump.
However, the Army policy change comes during a solid recruiting environment in which its recruiters have reached or surpassed their goals in the last year and report being on track to meet their 2026 recruiting goals. The policy change is meant to better align the military branch with Defense Department standards, an Army spokesperson said Tuesday.
Also, the updated Army regulation allows recruits who have a single marijuana possession or drug paraphernalia possession conviction to enlist without a waiver. Previously, such convictions would have technically barred potential recruits from enlisting, but they were often granted waivers to join the service.

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