Jason joined the military when he turned 18. It took him 8 years to raise to the rank of chief. Then 25% longer than that to go from chief to master chief. He then spent 10 years more in the military before retiring. How old was he when he retired?
Thoughts? Step-by-step reasoning:
It took 8 * .25 = 2 years longer to go from chief to master chief than to get chief. So it takes him 8 + 2 = 10 years to become a master chief. That means he took 10 + 8 = 18 years to reach master chief from enlisting. So he was in the military for 18 + 10 = 28 years. So he was 28 + 18 = 46 when he retired.
Thus, the answer is 46.