http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=30814<snip>
“It’s a killer,” said Spc. Brad Salomon, who at 44 years old is the oldest member of his platoon.
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It is an uncomfortable change for some. Some soldiers said they felt too old to run up hills and shoot at insurgents. Others simply miss their old jobs.
“A lot of the younger soldiers like this gung-ho stuff,” said Staff Sgt. Rodrick Boykin, a squad leader. “Older guys, they’re stuck in their ways. They’ll do it for a month, but they want to get back to their old jobs.”
Both circumstances apply to Sgt. Terry Blackburn, a 39-year-old tanker who joined the National Guard because of the rage he experienced after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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“I’m not champing at the bit to do it,” said Beauchamp, a mechanic whose last infantry experience came during basic training 17 years ago. “
if the president of the United States wants me to do it, then here I am. I signed up.”