I am 35 and just enlisted. What can I expect?

PO1 Joe Shapona - really PTSD counselors in basic? What they he’ll have they done to my Army?

SSG Sharon Fields - To be fair I heard this from a SFC who just retired. But the "Time out" chits are seemingly real.

Wow! I enlisted in the Navy one month before my 18th birthday. Physically, the Navy was a breeze. However, it was a mental challenge even for us 18-20 year olds. There was about a 25% washout rate back in the early 1960's. I could not imagine anyone at age 35 dealing with being called every degrading name not defined in Websters Dictionary, then add having joined either the Army or Marine Corp with the additional physical stamina required. My nephew enlisted in the Army at about age 33. He was too set in his ways even as s street brawler, ending up sick, and washing out of Army Basic. Stay healthy and physical fit and pretend you're 18 and can take the 10 weeks of the BS thrown at you in Basic. I have a good friend who applied and was eventually accepted into the California Highway Patrol Academy in Sacramento. He had a degree in Theology and his nickname was Preach. He was 35 years old, and at the max age limit, as well as being the oldest person in his class. He had applied two years prior, and then got the call telling him he'd been accepted. He was married and his wife was pregnant at the time. He said the physical requirements were brutal, but the emotional challenges were equally challenging. Weapons training, driving skills, running-running-running, weekly tests to qualify and pass, and the list goes on and on for 28 weeks. That's longer than any military Boot or Basic training. About 20-40% cadets wash out. He passed and is now in his second year as a California Patrolman (CHP). You can do it.

PO1 Joe Shapona - When was on Active Duty (70s and 80s) rumors of "stress cards" for trainees ran rampant.

In my current job, I occasionally teach groups of Airmen and Sailors. In one class one Airman mentioned the "stress cards". I asked him if there were stress cards when he went through basic. He said "No Way"!

That's when I told him about that rumor had been circulating since AT LEAST the mid 1980s. I did tell him something that happened to one guy in my flight that is most likely not happening these days.

When we first arrived at out squadron (at 'zero dark thirty') after our TI "greeted" us, showed us how t stand at attention to stand at attention, yell "Sir, yes sir" loud enough for him to hear, and pickup up our bags quickly enough, it was time to go up into the barracks..

When we were in the day room he asked a few airmen some questions. One poor soul answered "Yeah". we saw the red move up out TI's face like a thermometer. The conversation went like this:
TI: WHAT THE F**K DID YOU JUST SAY?
Airman: Sir, I meant to say Sir, yes sir.
TI: BULLSH*T, YOU SAID YEAH. I HATE THAT F**KING WORD. Where the f**k are you from, boy?
Airman: Sir, Ohio, sir!
TI: Do you know me?
Airman: Sir, no sir!
TI: Does your mamma know me?
Airman: Sir, no sir!
TI: Does your daddy know me?
Airman: Sir, no sir!
TI: THEN WHY THE F**K DID YOU COME ALL THE WAY FROM OHIO JUST TO PISS ME THE F**K OFF?

The TI grabbed his shirt collar and said "COME WITH ME, LADIES!"
We all went into the latrine and the TI told the airman to kneel over the toilet and said "YOU WILL SIT HERE AND SAY YEAH, THEN FLUSH IT DOWN THE TOILET UNTIL THERE'S NOT ANOTHER F**KING YEAH LEFT IN YOU, BOY. DO YOU F**ING UNDERSTAND ME?"

The airman said "SIR, YES SIR!" For the next few minutes we heard "YEAH <flush>, YEAH <flush>, YEAH <flush>, YEAH <flush>.

The TI said "DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE YEAHS LEFT IN YOU, BOY?"

The airman replied "SIR, NO SIR!"

The TI said "Good, on your feet." Then he turned to us and said "Let this be a lesson to you, ladies!"

My USAF students had their jaws wide open and admitted that would never happen today.

I responded by saying "Well, we were scared sh*tless, but it worked... nobody ever said yeah again for the next six weeks"

SFC Jim Brown (Ret) Attended Basic Airborne School just four (4) months shy of 40 years old for the third time. I can tell you run, run, run, pullups, pullups, sit ups, sit ups, and then do them all over again. Have heart, never quit. Be the last one down (if you get a break), be the first up when break is over. Never falter. Put a lot of time and effort prior to attending. I did and that all paid off. I was used as an example to the younger troops. The respect you gain from the Drills, (Black Hats) will make your effort more than worth while. Most rewarding thing I ever did.

I was 32 when I enlisted and I concentrated on improving my PT. At the end, I even beat those 18-20 year old youngster in 2 mile run

WW1 Vet. told me just before I bought the train to Ft. Benning Ga.Basic Training. Don't volunteer for nothing. At Benning. A DI Stated. When being fired on by machine gun. Charge the position.I questioned the DI at the time. He repeated the same. I never seen anyone charge automatic fire.

Be in shape before beginning Basic Training. You won't have much of an issue. Chin ups were my weekness.