September 18, 2025
Eustis’ Quan Nguyen Graduates Basic as the Air Force’s Oldest Recruit
By Kyle Coppola
Eustis’ Quan Nguyen Graduates Basic as the Air Force’s Oldest Recruit
Quan Nguyen, a 42-year-old business owner from Eustis, recently graduated from basic training, officially becoming an Airman First Class (A1C). Quan was the oldest person on record to enlist in the U.S. Air Force, just 12 hours before his 42nd birthday.
Quan was sworn in at 41 years and 364 days old earlier this year, meeting the new cutoff age for enlistment. After completing eight weeks of basic military training, he reunited with his family in an emotional moment marked by tears and relief.
“The Air Force BMT broke me and built me back up,” Quan says. “I am truly blessed to be headed to tech school. Thank you for the support and motivational messages that were sent while I was away. It was needed.”
His story began decades earlier. The son of Vietnamese immigrants who came to America by boat, Quan grew up in a struggling household. After his parents’ divorce, his mother raised two sons with little money. At one point, she even attempted to sell Quan for $40,000, but when negotiations fell through, she chose to find another way to provide for her family.
Quan found work early, mowing lawns, pulling weeds, and fixing cars to earn money. At 15, he got his first job in the air conditioning business after a friend’s father told him he could stay the night only if he agreed to work the next morning. That one job became a turning point, launching him into a career in HVAC.
At Eustis High School, Quan endured bullying but rose to leadership roles, eventually serving as student council president. His accomplishments earned him full-ride scholarships to Lake-Sumter Community College, now Lake-Sumter State College and later to the University of Central Florida. He graduated with an associate degree in business marketing and finance while continuing to work in the air conditioning field.
Despite professional success, Quan felt a calling to serve. With the enlistment age cutoff looming, he trained himself into shape and pursued a lifelong dream.
When Quan saw his family for the first time in eight weeks, all he could do was cry. It was a beautiful moment that Quan shared on his Instagram page.
Now, as an Airman First Class heading to technical school, Quan embodies both perseverance and patriotism. While the hard work is just beginning, Quan continues to inspire so many people.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
