When a lifelong soldier wanted to serve his country in Iraq, he had to get a special waiver from the secretary of the Army because of his age.

Col. Ronald Gallimore is 59 years old and he says he couldn’t imagine not joining his fellow soldiers in this war. Gallimore is the oldest jump master on active duty in Iraq and he called Growing Bolder from his offices in one of Saddam’s old palaces in Baghdad.

He’s at the end of his 31-year career, and even though he’s served long enough to see what happened in Vietnam, Granada and Panama, he says what today’s soldiers are doing in Iraq is one of the most impressive things he’s ever seen. He says we are witnessing another great generation of men and women serving their country and he couldn’t be more proud to serve alongside them.

The husband, father of three and grandfather says when the secretary granted him this final waiver, he showed it to his wife and promised he’d finally get around to that to-do list when he returns.

Find out what drives him to still get up 2 a.m., strap on 100 pounds of equipment and jump out of a plane when most soldiers his age are working in an office.