US Army raises maximum enlistment age to 42

UNITED STATES (WINK)—One-thousand soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg are set to deploy to the Middle East in the coming days.

Sources say they'll serve as a ready unit as the U.S. continues operations in its war with Iran. This all comes as the U.S. Army is making big changes to who can serve our country.

It's not only allowing older people to serve—it's relaxing some past restrictions. These are some of the most significant recruiting changes we've seen in years, and it essentially opens the door to more people wanting to serve our country.

The max enlistment age is now raised from 35 to 42 years old. Anyone with a single marijuana or paraphernalia conviction no longer needs to send in a waiver.

These changes are set in stone come April. The Army says this is all about expanding its recruiting pool after missing goals in recent years.

Only 1% of the population currently serves. Recruitment numbers really shed a light on this.

Last year the regular Army exceeded its recruiting goal. It came in at 103% with 62,000 people. But before that, it's a different story.

It did meet the goal in 2024 with 55,000 recruits. But in 2023 it fell extremely short.

With 50,000 people, it only marked 76% of the goal. Overall, the Army Reserve is still below goals in recent years, too.

Recruiting experts say older recruits are more likely to be promoted faster and re-enlisted more than recruits under 20.