Reservists May Be Graying, but They’re True Blue

CHICOPEE, Mass. —  In April, 58-year-old Charles Fusco retired from his civilian job at Westover Air Force Base. In December, he found out the military wasn’t quite finished with him.

“I knew they didn’t want me to be a commando,” joked Fusco, a chief master sergeant. “They don’t need a commando here, they need someone who can fix an airplane.”

With an all-volunteer military that sets 60 as the maximum age limit, Fusco is only one of dozens of men on the brink of retirement who have been called to active duty.

“I’ve seen some real gray heads going through the passenger terminal,” said Sgt. Tom Allocco, spokesman for Westover, which has shipped thousands of troops to Saudi Arabia since Saddam Hussein’s troops invaded Kuwait last August. “I’m 42, and when I was 19, I never thought I’d be in the service at 42.”

According to the Pentagon, there are about 18,000 reservists in all branches of the service who are 55 or older.