The Taliban rocket slammed into Forward Operating Base Shank inAfghanistanright at suppertime.
It was a Friday evening in 2009.
Except for one man.
Sam Carlson picked up his tray loaded with lobster and steak and sauntered to the bunker.
He sat on an ammo box and started to eat.
The ranks of troops in war are filled with youngsters but there are exceptions.
This past year, nine people over 50 enlisted, according to a Defense Department spokeswoman.
For some, the terrorist attacks on America provided the motivation to enlist.
For others, it was seeing the need to help as casualties mounted in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For the most part, they’ve been welcomed as experienced assets, not liabilities.
It wasn’t always easy to make the transition to the military.
They needed age waivers, and the processing often took more than a year.
Fearless at 50
Something about being 50 frees us up to be a little more … fearless.
Because at 50 you finally know who you are.
And if not, you’re not afraid to make it up.
Carlson’s grandfather served in World War I, his father in World War II and Korea.
Carlson enlisted in the Army at age 20 in 1967 and spent the next 20 years in uniform.
In 2005, at age 58, he was recalled to active duty.
At Shank he was known as OCITA oldest captain in the Army.
But he was not alone.
Here are the stories of some others who are serving, or have recently served, after turning 50.
It had blown up his Humvee.
His son survived, was awarded a Purple Heart and went on to earn a nursing degree.
As a result of his son’s injury, the father felt obligated.
It was, as the grunts say, “a bullet magnet.”
Enlisting or re-upping at a nontraditional age takes time.
For Bone, it took 21 months, lots of paperwork and background checks.
Even so, an assistant secretary of the Army had to sign a waiver for him.
Now 68, Bone faces a mandatory retirement date this month.
Of his two tours in Afghanistan, he says, “My orthopedic specialty is trauma.
War seemed to be a natural extension of my life.”
He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service.
