Hello, I’m GI41; 6 years prior service Army, Airborne Combat Engineer with the 27th Engineers at Fort Bragg, and later I served with the 39th Engineer battalion at Fort Devens, Mass. I grew up on a small farm in Weiser Idaho back in the 70s-80s. Now I’m 41 and looking to get back in the Army. Since getting out in 1992 I have worn many hats. Some blue collar; roofer, framer, truck driver, mechanic, pizza delivery, courier, day labor, and then, after attending college and getting a B.S., some white collar; photographer, mortgage broker, project manager. None of these jobs have been able to compare with my time in the Army. Just not enough excitement and a little too much time in the cubicle for me. I’ve decided that I want to go back in the Army and truly “be all I can be” (as they used to say). The first time I was in the Army I was only 17 and my general attitude was “what can the Army do for me”, but now I want to give back. “What can I do for the Army” is the question. I feel that my considerable life experience will allow me to lead from the front and enable me to be an outstanding sergeant. My goal is to make Command Sergeant Major before I’m forced to leave the military due to geriatric flaws. That gives me 21 years and I intend to make the most of it.

I’m the father of 3 children, Chrystina (19), Molly (6) and Jamieson (3), and married to a sassy young Irish lass named Megan. I have been training for 2 months in preparation for WTC and the launching of my new career. I’ve lost 24 pounds so far and am now hitting the tape with an inch to spare. My 2 mile run is down to about 18 minutes and I’m knocking out 45 push ups in 2 minutes, and about 40 sit ups in 2 minutes. I’m working to reduce these numbers further before departing. I should be going to MEPS soon and I’m really looking forward to finding out what job the Army needs me for and getting this show on the road. Also been thinking about going back to the Airborne. Just like jumping.

Well, that’s me in a nut shell. Feel free to send me a PM. Hooah!!

Welcome to the community. Good luck with your journey.

quote:

Originally posted by katana2665:
Welcome to the community. Good luck with your journey.

Thanks katana. I'm looking forward to it. Read many of your posts... Thought I would stop ghosting the site, create a profile, and start contributing.

Great to have you on board. Lets us know how you do at meps and when you have to go to WTC.

I was sworn in January of this year at 41 years old and turned 42 in March. So I know your pain about getting in shape. It takes longer for us to get our run times down. Just had a record PT test at my unit: 18.02 for the run, 53 pushups, 46 situps. I am Airborne and so is my unit. Those landings hurt a little more now that I am older.

Look into mos 37F. It has it all.

Good luck on the over 40 physical.

Good to know I'm not the only 40 something to be going in. I've read almost all the posts on this site and there seems to be plenty of us. Not such a bad job after all eh? 37F – good ol’ psyops. Those guys used to make me nervous…. Early in the morning with the sound of babies crying in the woods… sheesh! glad you guys are on our side. No, I’ll stick to Combat Engineering, or maybe a Photo Journalist (46Q) job if they offer it, but I was Combat Engineer before, and I’m guessing I’ll be Combat Engineer again. I envision that I’ll talk to the counselor and my options will be: Combat Engineer, Infantry, or 88m, (truck driver). Of those I would have to go Engineers, just cuz in my opinion they are just as hard core as the infantry and I already know the job, so no learning curve. As for truck driver? I just can’t imagine being behind the wheel for that many years. I appreciate the guys that do it, but it’s not for me. Rather be on the ground with the enemy than wondering about that pile of trash coming up on the left!

Thanks again Ozzy and I’ll keep you all posted on my status. I hope to be headin out to WTC in September sometime, but who knows until I hit MEPS. Oh, and I read a few posts about that over 40 physical too, sounds like a laugh riot. Thanks for reminding me.

Welcome to the form from a prior Marine Corps Sgt. (Armor) Field 82-91. I’m now a 21B Combat Engineer Sgt. at Fort Hood. I was out of the Marines 16yrs and joined the U.S. Army Nov/07 as a 21B. “Engineers Lead the Way”! I attended WTC NOV-DEC/07 and AIT at Fort Leonard Wood, MO as an Spc/E-4 due to my break in service. I joined my Unit the in Mar/08 and just pinned Sgt back on Aug-08.

I turned 44yrs at AIT and run with the best of them at my unit. Run time is 15:20 have an APFT in Sept. hope to bring that run time down in the 14:00’s. I worked/retired early 15 yrs. from in Enforcement “Police”. My goal is to deploy once more and attend Drill Sgt School and retire with 9yrs 10 Mos to go.

Good Luck and welcome back! And as far as 21B this MOS has one of the lowest cutting scores for E-5/E-6. My cutting Score was high enough for E-6.

Thanks Ajslds!! I enjoyed your pics of WSMR and Santa Fe you posted on your profile. I, just today, received a fairly decent job offer in the civilian sector, but I just can’t bring myself to take the job. My heart is set on Army life now. Can’t wait to get back in the action!! I miss the life style, and that’s definitely what it is, a life style. It’s been great talking to people who support the Army on this site. Lots of the civilian folks, who have no idea what they are talking about except what they see on CNN and the like, have been asking me “are you crazy!” doing this… “Wont you miss your kids”, seems to be the most popular question. The answer of course is yes, but what I do I do for them, and god and country. I can help! It’s what I want to do, and I plan to kick ass doing it. Anyway, appreciate the support. Fight the good fight!

I, too, am happy that you have those pics on your profile. I've been wondering what it looks like out there and now I know. Thank you.

may as well ride ur train and say hey too... i'm an ex navy BM1, spent about 5 yrs on active, and another 10 in the reserves. have really enjoyed reading the forum here, lots of good stuff. thanks for taking the time to post guys. i should be nearing the end of my process for entering, submitted my rank determination on tuesday, should be off to meps for the liason within a week. really looking forward to having a uniform on again. i agree with you about the friends wondering if i have lost my mind, but there is absolutely no way to describe it to them if they haven't been there. i'll be 42 in november, and the push to get in shape has me feeling better than i have in 10 yrs. good luck to everyone else and maybe i'll see some of you.
Boats

I'm trying to go in as well. 39yrold former marine. I have good run times but i'm 6'0" and 238. The situps/pushups aren't very good, 4/7 respectively. I want to go in but not really motivated to go to WTC. Will go if I have to and I'll kick ass and take names while there. I am looking at reserve or active but not sure. I am also looking for an MOS that will kick ass like Combat engineer or Diver but will have long term potential. I intend to do 20 yrs and retire. The wife is not too keen on me going to Iraq but I say bring it on.
The SUCK was fine for 5 years but it gets to be a bit too much too soon. I am hoping the Army is kick ass without all the marine corps ********. Everyone asks me why I don't go back into the SUCK and I just smile and change the subject.
I am going to see what you have to say about WTC there GI41. Let me know how it is. I doubt it can have anywhere near the suck factor of marine corps bootcamp.

Poe out.

Poe,

I say give it a go, or at least start the process along until you make a final decision. It took me about 10 months to get totally cleared to come back in, and in that time I did a whole lot of thinking and talking to those close to me to figure out if it was the right choice or not. I didn't actually decide that I wanted to go in for sure until the last month of the process. Taking the time to decide and really being sure about the decision has left me with no doubts at all that this is the right course of action for me.

I leave this coming Monday for WTC, so I can't speak from experience, but I'd be willing to wager that it is much lower on the suck factor than marine boot camp was. This isn't to say that everyday Army life doesn't have it's share of BS to put up with. Some of it will depend on what MOS you go into, where you end up, how your NCOs and commanders are, and of course your own attitude.

As for your push ups and sit ups, I would suggest taking 4 minutes a day to help boost them. Give yourself a 2-minute PT test for each. Do as many as you can in that time then walk away. It'll only take a couple days for your numbers to start going up. Regardless of if you decide to go back in or not, showing improvement will help you feel better in general.

I feel your pain on the weight thing. I started two months ago at 246 lbs. I’m 6 foot tall also. My push ups and sit ups also sucked, and the run was hell, couldn’t even do a mile in the beginning. But I just stuck with it. Now I’m down to 220 lbs and the run has gotten a lot easier, as well as the PU and SU. Feels great to be getting in shape again. Got more energy for other things too, like letting the wife know how much I love her. I’ve been thinking hard about all the jobs I could be offered. The each have their merits. Support rolls and their practical job training for the transition into the civilian sector someday, and combat rolls for the adventure and accelerated promotion potential. I’m leaning toward the combat side. Even been thinking infantry lately. Whenever I had exposure to those guy before I always admired the skills. They are focused like a laser beam on their task. Combat engineers are kind of all over the place sometimes. I’ll report back on MEPS and WTC when the time comes.

quote:

Originally posted by ajslds:
Welcome to the form from a prior Marine Corps Sgt. (Armor) Field 82-91. I’m now a 21B Combat Engineer Sgt. at Fort Hood. I was out of the Marines 16yrs and joined the U.S. Army Nov/07 as a 21B. “Engineers Lead the Way”! I attended WTC NOV-DEC/07 and AIT at Fort Leonard Wood, MO as an Spc/E-4 due to my break in service. I joined my Unit the in Mar/08 and just pinned Sgt back on Aug-08.

I turned 44yrs at AIT and run with the best of them at my unit. Run time is 15:20 have an APFT in Sept. hope to bring that run time down in the 14:00’s. I worked/retired early 15 yrs. from in Enforcement “Police”. My goal is to deploy once more and attend Drill Sgt School and retire with 9yrs 10 Mos to go.

Good Luck and welcome back! And as far as 21B this MOS has one of the lowest cutting scores for E-5/E-6. My cutting Score was high enough for E-6.

SGT Scott, I am due to come off of the Drill Sergeant "trail" in February. I am to report to Fort Hood in March of '09. Shoot me a line or two and fill me in on how it is over there! I am going to 3rd ACR.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: brndnvargas,

quote:

Originally posted by brndnvargas:
SGT Scott, I am do to come off of the Drill Sergeant "trail" in February. I am to report to Fort Hood in March of '09. Shoot me a line or two and fill me in on how it is over there! I am going to 3rd ACR.

When did the 3rd move from CO to TX? I just recently learned that the 2nd ACR went through a strange flag change and that they're not a cav unit anymore, but that an infantry unit is carrying the cav flag. Still trying to sort out the details of that.