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55-Year-Old Soldier Joins Army, Graduates From Basic Combat Training
NBC Bay Area ^ | Thursday, May 29, 2014 | Riya Bhattacharjee

Posted on 05/29/2014 4:09:38 PM PDT by nickcarraway

click here to read article


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1 posted on 05/29/2014 4:09:38 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Wow, but I thought the cutoff was at 35? So you can join even at 55?


2 posted on 05/29/2014 4:11:31 PM PDT by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
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To: Greetings_Puny_Humans

For the Army I believe it’s 42.


3 posted on 05/29/2014 4:12:42 PM PDT by Antihero101607
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To: nickcarraway

In order to protect Obama, they excised the KEY reason he re-joined; he and his wife didn’t have enough money to send their two kids in college.

JUST IMAGINE the heavy emphasis that detail otherwise would have received, had a REPUBLICAN been Prez;

They would have been screaming it over and over again.

But here, they dress everything up in bows and sprinkle a quart of perfume all over it.


4 posted on 05/29/2014 4:16:22 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: gaijin

Don’t forget about the way they treated higher unemployment rates after Obama was first immaculate;

They CONGRADULATED him on his genius in HELPING FAMILIES SPEND MORE TIME TOGETHER.

They gushed louder even that Kim Jong Un’s frenzied acolytes….!

The presstitutes DIVE to their knees wearing KFC bibs and beg to gulp down His Majesty’s essence.


5 posted on 05/29/2014 4:19:59 PM PDT by gaijin
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A thread from yesterday if anyone is reading the comments thereon:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3161129/posts


6 posted on 05/29/2014 4:20:54 PM PDT by deport
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To: Greetings_Puny_Humans

From the article:

Taffe’s age almost stopped him from enlisting in the Army, but he made the cut-off,
getting in 36 hours before his 55th birthday, when a waiver would have been required


7 posted on 05/29/2014 4:21:50 PM PDT by deport
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To: Antihero101607

There’s some guys aged 60+ years old in Ukraine fighting against the Russians/Chechens who are invading their homeland. If there is a will, there is a way. Good on patriots like this!


8 posted on 05/29/2014 4:22:36 PM PDT by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
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To: nickcarraway

What a mensch!


9 posted on 05/29/2014 4:24:53 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: deport

Age requirements:

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/enlage.htm


10 posted on 05/29/2014 4:25:39 PM PDT by deport
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To: Greetings_Puny_Humans

No you can’t just join at 55, but he had served 14 years in the Navy, so that 14 was deducted from 55 giving him the chance to continue his military service without asking for an age waiver, that may not have been granted. All years completed with completed points for retirement are recognized as years completed.

A reservist can collect a pension at age 60 if they have served 20 years. He was able to get in under the wire using his 14 years, and save his chance for a pension later. Albeit that pension will be smaller than a full time military personnel. His twenty years will be finished at age 62, hence his statement that he would stay until age 62..and that is how it works.


11 posted on 05/29/2014 4:26:47 PM PDT by Kackikat
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To: Kackikat

That is exactly what he was trying to get accomplished. Another article I read indicated they had children who they wanted to help in college. So getting 6 more years would help his retirement.


12 posted on 05/29/2014 4:33:25 PM PDT by deport
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To: deport

There are people who have lost their jobs that would have given the a good retirement, and those with his kind of good years in military do have a chance to get some kind of retirement by going into one of the forces.... if they aren’t too old. I wish him well.


13 posted on 05/29/2014 4:36:19 PM PDT by Kackikat
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To: Kackikat

Regardless of the reason why he did it, if Army boot camp is anywhere near as tough as it was in 1973, he’s one tough SOB.


14 posted on 05/29/2014 4:39:14 PM PDT by EandH Dad (sleeping giants wake up REALLY grumpy)
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To: nickcarraway

He may be in better shape than some of the youngsters that sit around all day playing video games.


15 posted on 05/29/2014 4:39:16 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
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To: EandH Dad

Agreed.


16 posted on 05/29/2014 4:41:52 PM PDT by Kackikat
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To: Kackikat

The impetus for giving up his comfortable life by the bay was mostly financial. He and
his wife were going over the family’s budget last year and saw the cost of college tuition
for their two teenagers looming before them. Taffe had already spent 14 years with
the Navy, and by adding another six years with the Reserve he could greatly increase
his benefits, he said.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Soldier-55-about-to-graduate-from-combat-basic-5510831.php


17 posted on 05/29/2014 4:44:16 PM PDT by deport
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To: nickcarraway

Where do we find such men?


18 posted on 05/29/2014 4:48:30 PM PDT by pfflier
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To: pfflier

Alameda


19 posted on 05/29/2014 4:54:07 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: deport

I don’t understand why people do not have their teens start in community college as all degrees require what is known as core courses and they are basically the same no matter where you take them...advanced math, history/geography, social science, and actual sciences like biology etc... The total is about 44 credit hours and then transfer to University debt free, it also give parents two-three more years to save...

Community College will save about half on a college degree as it is very inexpensive. I think it is a better education because you rarely get a political nut case for a Professor. And the kicker is that most employers only care where you got the actual Major/Minor classes for the Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree/Doctorate. It’s a win win for parent and student..it also keeps the teen at home two more years until they are more mature and really are sure where they are headed....many change their minds within two years after high school anyway.


20 posted on 05/29/2014 4:56:17 PM PDT by Kackikat
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