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

I recall sailors getting E-4 out of nuke school. In exchange for a 6 year enlistment.

Reading this is just like having deja vu all over again. Back in the day, the Vietnam War Days, combat units were going thru NCO’s so fast, mostly because NCO’s were the prime targets of the NVA and the Viet Cong regulars who realized that shooting Junior Officers was not as effective the as shooting NCO’s, that there were more SP4’s just out of AIT leading squads than there were E5 Sgts available. So the Army and the Marines started Instant E5 programs just like OCS programs that turned out instant 2 Lts. I had several instant instant E5’s. After they learned their jobs, just like 2 LTs learned their jobs thru OJT and the school of hard knocks, they actually turned out to be pretty good NCO’s. So don’t be too hard on yourself. If you can do the job, then do it. Why do you care what a Chief who spent twenty years working in his Rating before he or she made Chief thinks? Look at it this way. You got where you are because you earned it. He got to where he or she is because that was the system then. So you got to where you are now because this is the system now. Good luck.

19 mths. in Nam, not Jan

It depends on your training, aptitude and experience. The Army made me an E5 eleven months after my enlistment. (NOTE: "the Army made me..." not "I made E5..."). In my case, I left the service after three years with some senior officer's commendation letters and a BSM.

Then again, there were other "shake'n'bake" E5s who didn't fare so well.

YMMV.

E4 in 1 yr

I came out of boot camp as an E-3 due to both AF JROTC training in high school and Army ROTC Summer Camp right out of high school; unfortunately, my father had an accident soon afterward and I took a hardship discharge soon.

My older brother and his entore family was at Harold E Holt Communications Station, NW Cape, Aussieland at the time and my youngest brother was only 12 years old..old enough to drive the old truck and tractor on the farm, but not old enough to take Mom and Dad to the doctor or grocery store.

It is possible from what I have been told, but it depends a lot of the 'needs' of the military service and the capabilities of the individual.

One of my good friends in the military went from being a E-4 to a O-3 overnight due to a critical need in his specialty field and his ability to adapt and change quickly. So it is possible but not probable.

I was in Fleet Marine Medic training when my discharge came through; I was told that they would take me back once I got my Dad off the farm, but I did not realize how attached to the land the peole of gthe Missouri Oxzarks are, and it didn't happen.

Its not good! You have to pay your dues, and learrn from seasoned mentors!

When I was with the 426th Civil Affairs Bn SO (A) in Upland, California from 2006-2010, I saw a PFC/E-2 make E-5 in 3 years. He went to Airborne School and within a couple of years took his basic NCO school so he did more than the average soldier and he made E-5 in a Hurry. This is in a high speed USAR unit.

Well, let's see...my dad, Henry Gettman, was drafted September 3, 1942. He made Corporal November 4, 1942; Sergeant May 10, 1943; Staff Sergeant December 26, 1944. E-6 in under 28 months. 2nd Lieutenant on March 5, 1945; 1st Lieutenant December 16, 1945; Private to 1st Lieutenant in just over 3-years. Captain (reserves) October 6, 1947, while still on active duty as 1st Lieutenant. Discharged June 28, 1948, 1st Lieutenant (still Captain, reserves). Enlisted September 16, 1948, Master Sergeant; June 29, 1951, WOJG; November 27, 1953, CWO-2; May 19, 1955, Major (reserves) while still on active duty as CWO-2. Discharged November 15, 1957, CWO-2 (still Major, reserves). Enlisted December 2, 1957, Master Sergeant; Retired Major (reserves) March 28, 1962, while still on active duty as Master Sergeant; September 25, 1965, 1st Sergeant; August 17, 1971, Sergeant Major. Medically retired from active-duty December 17, 1971, 1st Lieutenant. Died May 24, 1983. Retirement rank officially changed to Sergeant Major, July 23, 2004, and a new retirement certificate issued, signed by Eric Shinseki, 21-years after my dad died. So, while it only took him 2-years to go from private to Staff Sergeant, it took 27-years to go from Staff Sergeant to Sergeant Major, and he never made Sergeant First Class in his 29-years of active duty. Oh, and he was only 5'0" tall. I've got lots of documentation.

My son inlaw is in that same boat, he made e-7 in 9 years, with no real experience. Never been deployed and has been in one post his entire career. I explained to him although it’s nice to get promoted quickly, it ends up hurting your leadership experience. You don’t truly learn all you need to know by going thru the trenches . But I suppose it’s todays new military