E6 in 3 years? Is there such thing as making rank too soon?

in Vietnam, you can go from private to e7 , less then a year

Most people that make rank quickly have no leadership skills/abilities.

AT one time during Vietnam, in the Army, it was 1 year as as as a 2LT, 1 year as a 1LT, 3 years as a CPT and you were promoted to MAJOR. Then I also saw my boss a CPT in Germany in the mid 70's spend 7.5 years in grade before making MAJOR.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Yes of course. You can’t substitute wisdom gained from experience no matter how smart or confident or competent the soldier appears to be. Those who join at an older age who are more mature both emotionally and intellectually can handle quick promotions better though.

Another point to bring up. E-6 in 3years happens often in Military bands. In fact the quickest promotion to E-6 possible, Being selected for the Military premier bands, such as Pershing's Own. promotion to E-6 happens upon completion of Basic Training. From there, they ship to Washington D.C. to join their unit. This is not an easy thing, you have to audition and be a symphony caliber to be selected. This doesn't happen very often.

I will say this and catch some flak but here it goes anyways. You can make rank very very fast if you are well liked by your COC if not you will find yourself on the tail end but additionally your MOS makes a big difference in the Army. (not sure about the rest of the services) I Know that I seen several soldiers that came in after me and were promoted MUCH faster then me but their MOS was needing Leadership. Some of these NCO'S admitted having ART. 15's. Not to say I was the best but I managed to never get an ART.15 and still retired as a SFC With 2 times sitting as a 1SG. for a short time. JMT

No; there is absolutely no such thing as making rank too fast. TIS and TIG are two separate guidelines by which one can measure due promotions in service; more than guideline time means performance hasn't been appreciated and less time than guideline suggests performance has been above expectations. Once civilian and military schooling has been earned; next-level military training and testing has been successfully challenged and; performance has been above average and appreciated with awards and certificates, early promotions, although rare, can be granted by Special Promotion Boards.

In my personal opinion YES... because the maturity of the services member is not the same. There are some growing up that need to happen and acquired some knowledge, experience and expertise too that will comes up with time in service and rank too. But now if yiu stay too long in the same grade you could come up for separation from the service because you are not getting promoted too. What was good yesterday doesn't apply today...

E6 in 3 years, well in the air force that's what we use to call abook burner. Some one who studied all the time, had no problem taking tests and kept an emakqulate (spellin?)uniform. Usually the book burner who be technically proficent but usually poor at hands on practcality. But from what grade did you make E6? TIS is a very important factor in promotions. Usually 3 years TIS is required. That plus awards and decorations. So making E6 even in the ARMY, is quite an achivement for any one, even a boo,k burner.