That is a little on the old side, but there could be a couple of explanations. One would be a break in service, maybe of quite a few years, another would be someone who joined right after 9-11, and was a little old for a first enlistment, but there were lots of those, and more now as they've raised the maximum age for enlistment. I've got a nephew who is only 35, and just barely that, he's a SFC, E-7, in the reserves, AND, IIRC, he had a break in service between his active duty, which would have started around 1993/4 and when he went into the reserves. He's done one voluntary year in the sandbox...based in Kuwait, but TDY to Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi, Kyrgyzstan, and pretty everywhere in Central command's AO. He's now doing "involuntary" tour, with his unit this time, but they are at Ft. Sill, backfilling for active duty types who have other work to do, in other places. Since he lives in OK City, he can drive home on the weekends, or whenever else he can get a pass.
I think those are all valid explanations. The other thing that I forgot, is that the reporters will frequently get the titles of SNCO, especially in the Army, wrong. Sometimes it seems that everyone from E-5 to E-9, gets labeled Sgt.