This 41-year-old soldier has just completed an army training camp.

One of the biggest shocks Jason Pelletier experienced during basic military training was realizing he was older than most of his drill instructors.

Pelletier, 41, graduated from basic combat training this year and will soon complete advanced training to become a combat medic. Enlisting two decades after the age of many of his fellow recruits was a long-time goal for Pelletier, who said he was driven by the still-painful memory of his mistake-ridden first enlistment in the Air Force at a more traditional age.

“For me, this is an opportunity to put on the uniform again, to serve and fulfill my original commitment, and to be able to do it in an honorable manner,” Pelletier told the Army in a statement.

In 2000, Pelletier, then 18, enlisted in the Air Force but was discharged two years later because of disciplinary problems that stemmed largely from underage drinking, Pelletier said. He received a general honorable discharge from the military, which barred him from reenlisting.

After his military career ended, Pelletier applied for a football scholarship at West Alabama, which led to a job in the fitness and modeling industry in California. Pelletier later moved into finance, landing a job at Navy Federal Credit Union.

But Pelletier still felt something was missing. As a mortgage loan officer at Navy Federal, Pelletier said he was surrounded by other servicemen and hated that he had only two years of service to show for it.

“I wanted to feel that same pride,” he said.

Pelletier tried to join the Army National Guard four times but was rejected because of his discharge. Even after his failed attempts, Pelletier found himself knocking on the door of the Army Reserve recruiting office. He was told that his age and prior discharge required a discharge to reenlist, but the resistance did not deter him. It was a challenge.

“It wasn’t a midlife crisis type of challenge, although some might say that,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of gas left in the tank and I want to be able to push myself as far as I can.”

Pelletier turned to another Army recruiter, Staff Sergeant Paul Behling, who advised the 41-year-old to get letters of recommendation to support his application.

Pelletier spoke to his superiors at Navy Federal, who were eager to support him. They also recommended him to a vice president who was also a colonel in the Army Reserve. That led to a coffee meeting with Col. Matthew Lawson, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 98th Training Division.

Fortunately, Pelletier’s crime of youth and stupidity was not a hindrance. Pelletier said he “put everything on the line” and explained that he wanted a second chance at service.

“He was very open and honest about making a mistake during his first enlistment and taking responsibility for it,” Lawson told the Army. “It was clear that this wasn’t just an idea, it was something he was actively working on and seeking help to make happen.”

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Pelletier then faced another obstacle when Behling suggested he try to get a letter of recommendation from a one-star general.

“I thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. I don’t know any one-star generals,’” Pelletier recalled. He asked Lawson if anyone in his chain of command might be sympathetic to Pelletier’s story, for which he recommended Brigadier General David Samuelsen, commanding general of the 98th Training Division.

“I thought to myself, man, what am I doing here? This guy is going to think I’m an idiot and that’s it,” he said.

Finally Samuelsen reviewed Pelletier’s notes and thought about their conversation. Samuelsen thought about Winston Churchill’s quote: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

So he wrote a letter of recommendation to Pelletier in order to obtain exemption from enlistment.

“He admitted his mistakes, took corrective action and led an exemplary life in the more than two decades since his discharge,” Samuelsen said, noting that his desire to become a much-needed combat medic was a strong argument in his favor.

Pelletier was inside.

After completing 10 weeks of basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Pelletier earned the nickname “Senior Wolf” in the Wolf Pack. He spent the summer at Combat Medic Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he is scheduled to graduate in August. Pelletier said he wanted something “high-octane” and saw it as a “real-world skill set.”

“I know a lot of people who don’t have a second chance, or they feel like they’re too old or it’s too late for them,” Pelletier said. “To be able to do that is very surreal.”

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