Kevin Voyles grew up in Arlington and dropped out of high school at the end of his sophomore year. He later earned his GED and spent about 18 years in a series of jobs, including cook, kitchen manager, bartender, waiter and delivery driver for alcohol. He said he decided he needed a career instead of another dead-end job.
At 36, Voyles went to an Army recruiting station in Grapevine. He had a broken ankle and hearing loss in one ear. He said he passed a physical exam in Dallas and received a medical waiver for the hearing issue. The Army had raised its enlistment age limit to 42.
Voyles completed 10 weeks of basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He said the training improved his physical condition. He then trained at Fort Gordon, Georgia, as a signal systems specialist, learning to maintain, upgrade and repair Army communications systems. He said he plans to earn a bachelor's degree and possibly part of a master's degree during his enlistment, with the Army paying for college.