I’m 55, I should go back in the Navy - just to get out from under the bootheel of the hausfrau. I can dream, cant I? - I could not pass basic, I’d succumb on the marching “grinder”
I went through Army basic when I was 23 and it was hard enough, especially the marching. Got a “march fracture†and “shin splints†by forcing a longer stride than my 5’7†frame allowed. Got bronchitis but got to ride to the firing range for a couple weeks until that cleared up; then incurred significant hearing loss in my left ear by being forced to fire a M-1 Garand rifle without ear protection(I protected the right ear by pressing it against the stock of the rifle). In those days (1961) the Army apparently considered you a sissy if you wanted to protect your hearing. I tried cotton in my ears but Sargent on range told me to remove it. No way could I have gone through all that at age 55.