I've been lurking around your forum reading as much as I can for the past 8 months. I was sworn back into service for the second time on May 3rd of this year. It started back in September of last year when I had this crazy idea to try to re-enlist, likely a combination of existential/mid-life/retirement-reality-check crisis. I chose the Coast Guard Reserves because I want to keep my civilian job (I work for the City), and I wanted to try something similar to the Navy (I was active duty Navy for 6 years from 1994-2000) but still learn something new. My prior service dates, and the fact that I've been approved for an age waiver this time around, are all I'm going to say about my age. I'll let you do the math...and yes, I really am that old  

From that first recruiter visit, through taking the ASVAB again, spending a day at MEPS with kids that weren't even born yet when I went to MEPS for my first enlistment, and endless calls to my doctors for medical records releases, I finally have orders in hand: I ship to DEPOT on June 2nd and to MST "A" School in Yorktown on September 30th, and I have an assignment to my local sector afterwards. I sincerely expected to be shut down at each hiccup in this process, and somehow, here I still am. 

I've dog-eared my poor Helmsman to death re-learning my General Orders (it's been 25 years!), and the CG Ethos which is new to me. I can confidently pass the PT with a good buffer of just under a minute on the run (if I hustle hard, like I have a CC yelling me) and an additional handful of sit-ups/push-ups over the minimum. I have only 2lbs to drop before I'm under the weight limit max, which shouldn't be a problem in the next 3 weeks to my ship date. Over the past two decades, working out has been my hobby and my idea of a good time, but so has dessert so I've had to tighten up my eating recently. 

Some of my reading on your forum shows me I have some additional learning to do as well; I am not at all familiar with CG history, ships, etc. And the Navy never taught me to describe rank insignia on command, but at least it's identical across the two branches so that's a start...All I can say is THANK GOD for the Internet this time around. I feel much more prepared than I did in 1994, armed with the collective knowledge and experience of internet users.