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

I can see someone being high speed and and making E5 in 4, but E6 absolutely not. I don't want to get into how the hell regardless who you are. E6, Nope.

I can only speak for myself. I didn't make a career of it, but for the years I put in, I gave it 100%. I grinded everyday and was rewarded by gaining rank swiftly. Looking back, I wasn't ready! Though my work ethic and drive warranted the rank, I was still a tad immature, lacked leadership experience, and my overall military acumen was still developing. Now I was successful, but I look at where I am today as a well seasoned business professional - and, I can only imagine how much more successful I would've been if I had the maturity, and skill sets I carry today, back then.

I made E6 in 4 years, pinning 1NOV2019. It depends on if you let it get to your head or not. I do my best to stay humble and realize that 4 years isn't a long TIS for a SSG. That being said, I don't think that there is a problem with ranking up too fast. Some people are recognizable as leadership material, and their leadership can see it, and reward them with an early board appearance. But that person still has to put in the work of passing the board, passing BLC/ALC/etc, and earning points. I think that the current state of promotion puts a lot of responsibility into their leadership's hands, but the leadership doesn't always use it or recognize it. A board appearance shouldn't be automatic, unless the regulations say so. Even then, a memo stating why they aren't being recommended for a board appearance is up to leadership. Making poor leaders is the fault of the leadership, not fast promotions.

I think so. I’m sure it depends on the individual to a degree, but I agree with the need for mentorship by good leaders to develop leadership skills in the soldier. I’ve seen too many that have been promoted too soon, and the effect it has on those they interact with, whether fellow team members, and/or “customers” when in support positions. BTW, I don’t think this is exclusive to enlisted. I’ve seen some young 1LTs that were way to full of themselves. Mentorship and command climate matters for them as well.

I made Sgt E-5 in 2 years while serving in the Marines. It was kind of hard to lead Marines in the field when I hardly knew what I was doing.

Made E5 in just over 3-1/2 years at a time when people getting out of the Air Force after 4 years were E4 SRA but not yet E4 Buck Sergeant. Due mostly to making Below the Zone first try for E4. Was a Buck Sergeant for the shortest period of all preceding ranks, 4 months (Mar ‘81 to Jul ‘81). WAPS tested Nov ‘80 and got line number for Staff Sgt. first time.
I was a bit older than most having turned 22 half way through basic training. Had two years of college and a year and a half of work at a nowhere job prior to enlisting.

In active duty military promotion systems, there are the basic qualifiers, TIS, TIG, PME etc. These are then used to rank the qualified personnel along with test scores and in many cases a board. The intended result is the absolute best selectee is promoted for the good of the service. This is the enlisted side of things. If you meet the most basic of qualifications and have a senior NCO who gets an officer in the command to sign off on it, you can back door all other competition, if no one dares to protest. Then there are field promotions and field commissions, requiring much the same but bypassing all qualifiers other than an obvious immediate need. Many who are promoted outside of the established military promotion norms way too soon are most likely pawns of one sort or other and many a good soldier is damaged for a time or permanently in many cases, along with the collateral damage to subordinates and the whole of the system in general. Each individual should already be displaying full qualifications and even filling the role actively prior to promotion. This is how I was taught and how I prepared my subordinates while watching others build puppets in their regimes. In 31 years of service, I have seen the best and the worst. Following what I was taught always produced excellent results. Anyone who feels they were promoted too early is not at fault necessarily. It is those who did the promotion for an unprepared individual who should be held accountable and demoted. In the Profession of Arms, we cannot accept the luxuries of civilian whims in process and purpose. Follow the regulations and it's wisdom and beauty will be revealed.

Since the Navy doesn't care about leadership. No.

i think we all still put our pants on the same

Yes. Promoting people too quickly before they have a chance to develop sufficiently at each step of their career progression ultimately creates gaps in experience and leads to eventual gaps in judgment.