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

You can expect to be a Soldier, FFS

To be called "old man" your whole career.

I got in late too. Here's my story.
I enlisted at 29. I was 260#.
I got myself down to 185# before MEPS.
FT LWood got me to 155#.
I could max every event but the run.
In 29 more years I had 7 aviaion MOSs.
Medically retired at 59 yrs old (wanted to hit 30) as a MSG.
It was a great life.
Go for it!

Well I completed BCT at Ft. Jackson Graduated 28 May 2020. I am now at Ft. Eustis VA for AIT.

I concur with Captain Durish. After Basic, AIT, and Engineer OCS in 1968, I attended a 3 months class at Aberdeen PG. after class each day I slept 10-12 hours for about a month. Not sure what the attrition rate was for Benning School for Boys, but Belvoir was 50%. 133 started, 66 commissioned. 50 right to Nam. Only post Vietnam did I realize the toll that year 1969 took on me. At 35, best you be in shape already.

It can be tough in the sense of mentally dealing with trivial stuff. I enlisted at 36..The main issue was dealing with the theatrics and middle school drama in the open squad bay.

You poor guy. Lol. Remember ARMY STRONG!! You are going to be sore as shit!!! Get your mind right you have a long way to go. But remember after 20 years it’s a great retirement. Sfc Ret. Powell

I went through Sand Hill at Benning in '97, in my 20s. I was one of the oldest in my platoon at that age, they made me a squad leader on Day 1 and I had that job the entire time in Basic. My experience was that while there was a lot of getting in your face and messing with you the first few weeks, if your platoon adapts to following instruction and shows motivation to do what the drill sergeants tell you, the drills shift into focusing on getting you from Point A to Point B for training and making sure you are learning what you need to learn. Everyone's mission, them and you, is to produce trained and ready soldiers. Play the game in the beginning and then focus on getting it done. If you are as physically fit as you can be at the start, that's one less thing to worry about. You don't have time to ____ around, so stay busy and if you're in a leadership role, keep your team busy. Make your bed, polish your boots, study your SMCT. Move with a purpose. Count the weeks going by, not the days. Go to church on Sundays. Adapt to the program and you'll be amazed how much you transform in a short time.

Aches and pains like you have never experienced, and some real sleepless nights, keep the ice handy! Also it's a head game trying to break the individual down to raise everyone up as a functional team, some will resist, but most will see the light.

when i enlisted, 3 of us were around 30 . and actually, the dsgts took it easy on us . not to say that it was all a piece of cake .