63 Year Old Doctor Is Commissioned Into the US Navy

Here is an unusual, but pretty cool story:

When most people enter their 60s, they start thinking about retirement.

But Dr. Tyrone Krause decided it was the perfect time to start a new career.

At 63, the heart surgeon from Skillman, N.J., joined the Navy after receiving a waiver that permitted him to enter the Reserves a year past the typical age limit because people with his skills are in demand.

“Sometimes I say to myself, ‘How did I get into this? Why don’t I just relax and sit in my backyard and drink some beer?’ But that’s not my style. I’ve always been on the move. And hopefully I’ll always be on the move,” Krause said.

“I feel, surgically, I’m in my prime. I could still operate very well, and if I can give back and help some of our young men and women in the military, that’s what I want to do.”

Krause was commissioned as a commander Friday aboard the destroyer USS Ramage, where his 27-year-old daughter, Laura, is an ensign and performed the ceremony.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but I once rode on a plane into Afghanistan with a psychiatrist who was commissioned directly as a Colonel. He was much like this heart surgeon, just a guy that had a private practice and was looking to make a difference by joining the military for a short stint.