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

God, this post is from 2016. But I'll add my two bits anyway. I was active Army for eight years before Navy. We had a Medic(I was a Medic) named SSG Sheedy. He made SSG(E6) in 28 months. He said it can be done and he has the orders to prove it, even showed us all. He was a damn good NCO. Mature enough for the responsibilities. He was in his thirties, which makes a difference.
As far as making it too soon...if you mean as far as maturity's sake, I'd say yes. When I was a Mechanic in the Army(my first term of service before I re-classed to Medic) we lived in the same barracks as the Scouts. They were down the hall. We had a kid who made E6 at 22 years old. He was way too immature for it too. I PCS'd a couple months later so idk if he ever fucked up and got busted down or not. I can only assume he did because he was a drunk and a partier. Just not mature or responsible enough.
Anyway, that's my two bits. Enjoy your day.

I was in the same boat as you, I made E-6 after 33 months in service and I was scheduled to return to the U.S. after my tour in Germany and the Battalion C.O. pulled me aside and said that If I stayed in his unit, and re-enlisted, he would hand me my orders for E-7 and I could take a leave and go home and visit my sick father. I turned him down and sometimes I think I made a mistake, but as far as being too young, that has nothing to do with your capabilities as a leader. I returned to the U.S. and ended up using my big mouth to get me into all kinds of predicaments and then it took me 10 years to get my E-7. The problem with my mouth and my temper came back to haunt me again when I was up for promotion to Warrant. I managed to remind the people that I hadn't lost my temper in years and I received the appointment. The old adage of "An Ounce of Keep your Mouth Shut, Beats a Ton of Explanation." is the best thing for any soldier to know.

Trick question. COL Burroughs has it right. It is a case by case situation and if the people doing the recommending and promoting do their jobs right then it WON'T happen. If not, then watch out. I joined the Army with the stated goal of making Warrant Officer. I had a college degree and entered as a PFC, made SPC out of MOS training (Distinguished Honor Graduate) and made SGT after 6 months in my unit. Eighteen months later, with a waiver, I made SSG (thirty-three months in the Army). Three years later I made Warrant and retired after thirty-one years as a CW5. The only regret I have is that in WOCS, I found out that as a college grad I could have enlisted as an E-5 and after basic, MOS and WOCS could have made warrant then, but my #%$hole recruiter did not tell me as he got a $2500 bonus for signing a college grad as an enlisted. Do I think I made rank too fast no, but as a college grad I was a bit more mature than my contemporaries and as a Psych major, I understood the purposes behind some of the more tiresome things they did in basic training so was better able to deal with them.

I joined at 17 as well. My mother signed an age waiver. My 4th day in reception (Army, btw) was Sept 11th, 2001. Talk about dealing with nonsense t a high level. I made E5 4 years in. You said TIS which is important but most don't know. I'd say thank you for your service but few know that it sounds ironic. You are appreciated however. Thank youy for going above and beyond.

Fort Knox 1959, standing in formation and out came what I called little ford Fontaroy. He was a 19-year-old master Sargent. Could not believe it. In 1995 in my home town I ran into him by surprise. I was talking to someone about my military days, and he stated that he was at Knox the same time as me. Conversation led me to talk about this master Sargent, and he said that was him. So, 19 and a Master Sargent, you think he had a big head, you know it.

I mage E6 in 6 yrs and E7 at 10. Even that seemed a bit fast but my competitive spirit would never have seen it like that (then). I think I was ready but I have seen a few in similar situations that failed so I think it should be fine. Especially when you balance it against a 22yr old 2Lt

I made SSG in 1 1/2 years during Vietnam. Rank was available back then. Was drill sergeant at Ft. Dix

Absolutely too many get rank too fast. When I reclassed from aviation to be a scout, I had 7 years time in rank as a sgt. Way too long but that is what it is. I had 10 years time in service. It sucked professionally/ career-wise, but with all that time came a whole lot of experience. After I reclassed I was supposed to be promoted after I got to my unit, as I had more than enough points to make ssg in my new mos plus I had been to the board, and bcnoc phase 1. Well, of course the "new guy can't get promoted immediately so my promotion packet was "messed up" and I had to wait a year. But anyways....I get to my troop, and we were just in the process of standing it up as a new unit. Well, here I am 29 with almost 11 years in service and 7 in rank. Im obviously the senior E5 so I get all the joy that comes with that. Meanwhile, I'm having a hard time getting on with the ssg's as they are very immature and not very wise in the way of the army. I had more time in grade than any of the E6s had in the army. They all made 6 in 6. Which is great for the paycheck and ego, but not so much for the humility and technically and tactically proficiency. They only knew how to lead as long as the situation was one of the examples in the manuals. They were always picking on the young troopers....who were only a few years younger than them. Not for corrective purposes or anything, just for the sake of bullying. I don't mind a little hazing and good natured ribbing but this was just trying to see who had the most dominance. Finally I would ask for a word with them and tactfully correct them and try to teach them the difference between being an NCO and a sgt. Of course I'd get told to stay in my lane and shut up and all that. I would take the guys and teach them different things from mos to skills to how and why certain things worked or didn't in the army. Of course I would correct when needed, but generally just raising my voice a bit got them in line. (One of the many tricks I tried to teach the other ncos....treat them right, speak to them with respect and honesty, let them know we are on a team...then when you do yell, cuss, rant, whatever....they know it means something. I had the same time in service as the E7s in the unit and one less year than the 1sgt. But they understood what I was doing and why...because they had years of experience. Eventually, I got my promotion and the respect from the other ncos, but more importantly I had the respect of the soldiers, and not just mine. They have gone on to have some pretty good careers and I'm comfortable knowing that I thought them some very good habits.
So after all of that....yes it is bad to get promoted too early

I was in the Marine Corps at a time when the commandant determined that no one was going to make E-5 on their first enlistment, whether it be 2, 4, or 4+extension to 6 years. Also blocked promotions in the air wing for E-6 and above because "there were to many in the wing."

A lot of good people with lots of technical experience left active duty at that time for civilian jobs and the reserves.

I made Master Sergeant (E7), a week before my 25th birthday, so I was 24 years old. I stayed in and retired as a Warrant Officer Four, the highest there was at the time.