- U.S. Army will now allow men and women to enlist up to age 42.
- Army's updated enlistment policy will also allow applicants with a single marijuana possession conviction to join.
- Bestselling author David Goggins has reenlisted at 51.
Guys or gals in their early 40s now have another “middle-age transformation” option beyond buying a Corvette, haunting the gym or overhauling their clothes closet: Join the Army.
The U.S. Army is increasing its maximum enlistment age for men and women to 42.
That’s a seven-year difference from the previous allowable enlistment age of 35, although waivers were sometimes granted for older enlistees.
The “up-to-and-including-age-42” enlistment policy update was announced by the Department of the Army and applies to both applicants with prior military service and those with no prior service.
The Army’s age enlistment change — which will go into effect next month — generally places the nation’s largest military branch’s enlistment policy in line with other branches.
The Air Force, Navy, Space Force and Coast Guard all allow recruits over 40.
The U.S. Marine Corps caps enlistment at 28 — but allows hopefuls who are 29 or over to request waivers, according to Stars and Stripes.
The policy change is meant to better align the service with Defense Department standards, said an Army spokesperson.
It is not the first time the Army has accepted recruits on the north side of 40.
The service temporarily increased its maximum enlistment age to 42 in 2006 as it struggled to fill its ranks amid major combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The service dropped its enlistment age back to 35 in 2016, Stars and Stripes reported.
The Air Force and Space Force were the most recent services to raise their max enlistment age in 2023, when they moved it from 39 to 42 amid a yearslong recruiting slump that saw Air Force recruiters fall short of their enlistment goals for multiple years.
But the Army policy change comes amid 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 aims.
The Army successfully met its fiscal year 2025 recruiting goals for active duty, signing contracts with more than 61,000 future soldiers — a full four months before the end of the fiscal year.
In 2025, the branch also exceeded its retention goal for soldiers already in uniform.
The Army’s updated enlistment policy also eliminates a waiver requirement for “a single conviction of possession of marijuana or a single conviction of possession of drug paraphernalia.”
Applicants with more serious drug offenses will still need waivers.
The maximum age limit for newly commissioned Army officers is not changing. Active duty Army officers generally must be under age 31 in their commissioning year.
There are age waivers and exceptions for officer candidates eligible for direct commissions. Such appointments are typically offered to professionals such as doctors, lawyers and chaplains.
World’s ‘toughest man’ back on duty
The Army’s announced enlistment age adjustment comes days after the so-called “Toughest man alive” — 51-year-old David Goggins — reenlisted in the U.S. Air Force.
But if you’re over a half-century old and looking to follow Goggins’ return to uniform, you likely have to be in elite physical condition.
A retired Navy SEAL and author of the bestselling motivational book “Can’t Hurt Me,” Goggins has completed more than 70 ultra-distance races and is a former Guinness World Record holder for completing 4,030 pullups in 17 hours, according to his website.
Goggins is also reportedly the only member of the Armed Forces to complete SEAL training, Army Ranger School and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training.
He reenlisted as an Air Force master sergeant (E-7) and has been assigned to the Special Warfare Training Wing, according to Military Times.
While Goggins required an age waiver to reenlist, the Air Force did not provide additional details about the waiver.
“It’s worth noting that the Air Force has welcomed special operators from other services to cross train into Special Warfare for decades,” Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek said in a statement.
“Airmen entering the pipeline from sister services must meet the same standards and complete the same rigorous training as all other candidates.”
Goggins is the latest in a trend of former high-profile service members re-donning the uniform, reported Military Times.
Last year, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer returned to the Marine Corps, 15 years after his initial discharge. And in 2023, Army veteran and country music star Craig Morgan reenlisted in the Army Reserve as a warrant officer with a public-facing role in the U.S. Army Band.