Army raises enlistment age by 7 years as military draft fears continue
The Army has raised its maximum enlistment age to 42 as anxiety grows over a possible military draft during the intensifying conflict in Iran.
People up to 42 years old, regardless of prior military experience, can now join the Regular Army, the Army National Guard, and the Army Reserve, according to an updated Army Regulation released on Friday.
The former maximum enlistment age was 35. Notably, the policy left unchanged the minimum age for enlisting, which remains 17 with parental consent or 18.
The last occasion the Army temporarily raised its maximum enlistment age to 42 was in 2006, when the service faced recruitment challenges during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army subsequently lowered its enlistment age back to 35 in 2016. It comes shortly before Trump was seen “in distress” as his head jerked and eyes rolled back in an alarming health video.
Secretary Hegseth Administers Oath Of Enlistment At Washington Monument© Getty Images
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“Applicant is eligible for enlistment is applicant is at least 17 years of age and up to and including age 42 (exceptions not authorized),” the updated regulation reads. “Applicants who are 17 years of age (have not reached their 18th birthday) require parental or guardian consent for enlistment through completion of appropriate sections of DD Form 1966,” reports the Express US.
In recent years, Army recruiting officials have observed that the enlistment age has steadily climbed. In 2024, Maj. Gen. Johnny Davis, commander of Army Recruiting Command, said the average recruit is now 22 years, 4 months old and still “going up.
“That enlistment age only tells us, hey, there’s another market that we’re not really fully in,” Davis said. “We’re in the high school market-that is growing. But we really want this labor market to really grow for those who are older.”
Alongside the shift, Col. Angela Chipman, chief of the military personnel accessions and retention division, explained the new limit acknowledges the growing demand for varied expertise.
“We’re kind of looking at a more mature audience that might have experience in technical fields,” Chipman said. “We need warrant officers with extreme technical capability, and those will come from the enlisted ranks.”
The adjustment arrives as Iran delivers a defiant two-word message to U.S. forces following the Pentagon’s pledge to send 3,000 troops to the Middle East.
A representative for Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei disclosed that Iran has devoted “over two decades” to preparing for asymmetric combat against the technologically superior US military. Admiral Ahmadian, speaking for the Supreme Leader on Iran’s Defense Council, insisted Iran had “just one message for the American soldiers: “Come closer.”
Anxiety over military conscription persists as Iran conflict intensifies. Since the U.S. conducted coordinated strikes with Israel on Iran, Americans have worried about the prospect of conscription. According to the Selective Service System, which administers the military draft, all male U.S. citizens and male immigrants living in the U.S. must register with the Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Both undocumented and documented immigrants are subject to a potential draft, despite facing repeated criticism from the Trump administration.
Exemptions from registering for a potential draft include: non-immigrant men in the U.S. on student, tourist, visitor, or diplomatic visas; men on active duty; cadets or midshipmen at U.S. service academies; and certain military colleges are not required to register.
Likewise, clergymen and male students training for the ministry, as well as sole surviving sons and “only sons,” must register for the draft, though they could subsequently receive deferments if a draft were reinstated.
There is no draft currently active in the U.S. For a draft to be brought back, Congress must pass legislation authorizing compulsory enlistment. Congress has not yet authorized a war in Iran. The last time a draft was implemented was in 1973 during the Vietnam War.
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Source: Army raises enlistment age by 7 years as military draft fears continue
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