[Opinion: Damn! I thought they'd go to 80! Only a fool would sign up for America's warmongering. Or, maybe like the Russian meatgrinder, they'll give you a $50k signing bonus and a free American Flag Boby Bag.]

US military

US army raises upper age for recruits to 42 and scraps marijuana restrictions

Change raises age limit from 35 and removes barrier for entry for recruits who have a legal conviction for cannabis

Oliver Milman

The Guardian: 25 Mar 2026

The US army has raised the maximum enlistment age to 42 years old and scrapped a barrier for potential recruits who have a legal conviction for marijuana or drug paraphernalia possession.

People aged up to 42 can now enlist in the army, the army national guard and the army reserves, according to the new US army regulation, lifting the previous ceiling of 35 years old.

The army has also removed restrictions upon recruits who have a single conviction for possession of marijuana or associated items such as bongs, pipes and spoons. Previously, such a conviction would require a special wavier from officials in the Pentagon, with the recruit having to wait 24 months to enlist and passing a drug test.

After missing its recruitment target by 25% in 2022, the US army has changed its approach to attracting more people into the forces, including targeting more gen Z applicants.

Smart move. Lots of logistics and tech jobs for folks in good enough shape. Give the youngsters the guns.

Barron Trump

Jesse Ventura has taken aim at Donald Trump in typically blunt fashion, calling on his youngest son to enlist in the United States military while branding the President a ‘draft-dodging coward’.

Drawing on his experience as a Vietnam veteran, the 74 year-old argued that leaders should be willing to put their own families on the line before sending others into battle. He suggested that anything less undermines the moral case for war.

‘There’s a simple thing as a leader, and you know this having been in the military. Trump wouldn’t know it because he’s a draft-dodging coward. But anyway it’s this: a war is justified if you’re willing to send your kids. Because how can you send somebody else’s kids to a war if you won’t send your own?’

WWE icon Jesse Ventura demands Barron Trump enlists with a swipe at 'draft-dodging' dad