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

NO. If you qualify you should get promoted. I was up for E6 in 5..
I knew a Gunnery Sgt. That was 22 years old and his men loved him/

I have seen folks promoted to soon and have not a clue as to what they were doing. Had a PAC NCO who was promoted too soon. I had a soldier that need to go on emergency leave went to the PAC office to do a DA-31 the goofball said that we would have to wait for the clerk typist to return in order to file it out. I told him to give me the damn form and showed him at the bottom "Print in Blue or Black Ink" and asked him just where does it says it needed to be typed?

I was Army and it is possible for someone to get rank way too soon. It took me long enough to make NCO that I had learned what it took to be a team leader. It is all based on the individual but E-6 in three years doesn't sound like long enough to gain the necessary skills...

I do know a number of people that made rank way too quick, though. One E-6 I knew in Alaska made came into the Army in 1996, made it in five years, then made E-7 before June of 2002. No, he was not a squared-away NCO. But he had the right people pushing him forward, doctoring up his NCOERs and whatnot. Never went past E-7, though. Weird.

I earned Staff-Sergeant in just over four years. I was only 23 years old. At first, things were fine working in a supply unit, but once I received orders to Germany, and was placed in a Motor Sergeant position, I realized that I had a lot to learn. Luckily, I had an old-school Chief Warrant Officer as a boss along with a hard-core Master Sergeant who passed down their management skills and a boatload of ass-chewings on top of that, and I eventually evolved into a decent leader. Never discount the importance of being chewed out. The biggest lesson I learned was to constantly learn from proven leaders but at the same time, tap into what leadership qualities you already have. It always helps to gain the respect of your platoon and realize that yes, they are soldiers who will make mistakes. But when one makes a mistake or triumphs, the whole unit suffers or celebrates as one. One last note: I learned just as much from my squad members as I did from senior NCOs and officers.

This may not be relevant due to branch and decade of service. I enlisted for three (3) years in the Marine Corps in 1964. I, too, was 17. In '67, I returned from Vietnam as an E-5 and was offered E-6 to reenlist. I was about 3 weeks short of being in 3 years. That came with a promise of being made Warrant Officer within the year. I was guaranteed my choice of duty station for one year. Notice how everything was one year? In those days, you could be assured of being stateside for one year and back to Nam. No thank you.

I made one E-6 very upset. I had just under 3 years in and he was offering me E-6. He had 15 years in!!! There was a big difference in making rank pre-Vietnam and during Vietnam. I went to Nam as an E-3. After a while, I made E-4. THREE MONTHS later I made E-5. THREE MONTHS later, I was back stateside, and they offered me E-6. Yeah, a little bit fast.

I am not sure I personally would say there is a blanket yes or no answer to this question. It probably varies based on a dozen factors. The prevailing one, for me, is maturity. Not to say that everyone that is young is immature, but often the best way to achieve maturity AND wisdom, is with time, and because of that, age. If you achieve rank noticeably faster than your peers, especially in the same MOS... both you, AND they have to answer some questions. WHY did you pin on rank, and WHY did they NOT? Then focus on changing that, if that is your ultimate goal.

Its not fair to come down on the early-risers, nor is it fair to come down on those that did NOT get promoted as quickly. But in the same breath, stay humble and look out for your people. Its not an opportunity entrusted to you to "boss people around"... but instead a responsibility to look out for your people - and/or MORE of them; so here is some additional rank to help you do that.

I also made it in that time frame, E-7 in 9. I was ready, just had family issues that prevented me from certaint assignments, which in the long run, prevented me from reaching E-8, when I retired I had over 9 years time in grade. No regrets about my service, no negative actions, great evaluations and leadership position. Just assignments to short tours did affect my progress to the next levels.

My experience (& survival) says, "No"... in extraordinary times & circumstances.
I made it at age 19; 1 year & 11 months. Earned Sgt E5 by graduating (surviving) Armor NCO Academy. Went to 'Nam at 18 as a tank commander with 1st Brigade/5th Mech Div. Sent us immediately up to, & in, the DMZ. Got pounded by &/or engaged &/or mined by ChiCom anti-tank mines (not improvised anything) several times per week by everything the NVA (supplied by Russians & Chinese) could reach us with. We kicked ass & they did too; this was NOT guerilla, shoot-&-run or fire-a-few-rockets warfare; this was trench warfare against a well-armed & supplied army... in their country. When we pulled back, every running tank was pulling another + the recovery vehicle was pulling the CO's. Ugh.
After 8 months, got transferred to 2/2/Infantry (mech) with 1st Inf Div. Now a 19yo squad leader. Just in time for Tet`69, when the NVA & remnants of VC (leftovers from Tet'68) poured over from their "you-can't-touch-me sanctuaries & staging areas a few km's away in Cambodia. Three months, 2 PH's, & too-many-to-count firefights & ambushes later, the 25% of us who remained were "rescued"/replaced by the 11th Armor Cav. So we could essentially; rebuild the battalion. This meant "replenish & resupply", including allocations for rank. They looked around & saw i had survived = Sgt Thurman,"Congratulations, well-done. You get a promotion". So i got my E6 rocker as a blood stripe.
Note: remember guys, this was a WAR fought mostly draftees, especially in combat arms... the "lifers" & senior officers used their rank to get the safe jobs in the rear... while the "youngsters" paid the price(s).

One month later i was "65 going on 20", as i somehow managed to live long enuf to get on that "freedom bird". And yes, i earned the rank & was an old man by the time at got back.
But as the saying goes, "For those who fought for it, Freedom & Life have a taste the protected will never know." Amen! Got out an early out to start using my GI Bill education at 20. Oh yeah, & to start making Love as intensely as i had war(!). (;-}
Hope all of you/US warriors have a respectful & well-deserved Memorial Day. Peace be with the mothers, Gold Star especially... they are the ones who pay a lifetime of prices. May God & The Force be with Yo All.

No. I made E5 in 18 months. Army and promoted in Vietnam.