Vermont resident Paula Hawkins is 40 years old and barely made the age cut-off, but this didn't stop her from enlisting for an eight-year stint in the Vermont National Guard, simultaneously with her 18-year old son's enlistment. Soon they will both head out for basic training.
Hawkins wants to work as a paralegal for the National Guard, and has been assured that this is a realistic career objective once she completes basic education and military training. She is doing some pre-boot camp physical fitness training this summer and admits, “I’m usually hurting when I do it, but I don’t quit.”
While admitting that she's the oldest person in physical fitness training, she views this opportunity as a way to pursue a better career and retirement benefits than her previous bus-driving and minimum wage jobs.
And Hawkins' son is proud of her, even as he jokingly says,"Then I found out we were going to the same place and I said ‘crap.’ They’ll say, ‘You brought your mom to basic?’”
Addison County Independent
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