Middle-aged recruits now populating Army

FORT JACKSON, S.C., Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army has lowered the physical requirements needed to pass basic training to accommodate recruits as old as 41, Defense Department records show.

The Army raised the enlistment age limit to just shy of 42 in June, five months after raising it to just under 40 from 35, USA Today reports.

In one case, a 41-year-old mother joined her daughter in enlisting, the newspaper says.

Besides lowering the basic-training requirements, the Army is offering shorter active-duty periods for some recruits, as well as signing bonuses and bonuses for soldiers who persuade others to join, the newspaper says.

David Chu, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, says the improved health and fitness of middle-aged Americans make it possible for them to enlist.

"But nobody is proposing putting 42-year-olds next to 18-year-olds on combat patrols," adds Loren Thompson, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute, a non-partisan think tank. "If it is correctly run, it could be a real boon."