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I'm just confused here. How does a SSG have 6 service stripes, that would mean he has been in for 18 plus years since each stripe represents 3 years of service. Any ideas?
Thank you,
PFC O'Hara
Thank you,
PFC O'Hara
Posted in these groups: 
SSG
SSG
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 1197
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This is just a dumb question. Seems like your trying to ruffle some feathers. Guy has 18 years in the Army. Most NCOs retire as a SSG. Nothing wrong with that. And to everyone saying he's gotten and article 15 or he's a POS. You're really going to start talking about another NCO like that to a PFC. I see exactly where the military has gone. This kid asked a simple question and people start insinuating the worst possible thing. Get over yourselves and help the PFC out he is obviously green and had a question.
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MSgt Bobby Gene
PO1 William Van Syckle - AF is the same way. They promote to fill slots. However many slots are authorized for manning in a certain field are what is filled. So, the sometimes 7 or 8 available slots in a career field, they select the highest 7 or 8 scoring individuals, and that is that. Try again next year.
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SFC Barbara Layman
I agree. I have served in several components of the US Army - WAC, USAR, ARNG, USA over a period of 34 years. Highest rank held was E7 for two years. Retired as E-6 because the USAR Bde to which I had recently been assigned cancelled my ANCOC registration - it was the same time as their scheduled AT and they didn't want a second year without a PAC supervisor. Promotion was conditional yet they paid no attention to the orders. Lost that stripe because they cancelled my slot. My uniform displays 11 service stripes.
Come to think of it, I should probably edit my profile.
Come to think of it, I should probably edit my profile.
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Or the poor guy is in one of those MOS that promotions are sloooooooow. Dude has a butt load of overseas bars so he wasn't dodging deployments.
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SFC Dwight Beaver
MSG (Join to see) i loved overseas duty. Had as many if not more overseas stripes as he has
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LTC Tom Barbeau
Back in the late 80's, the Army made it nearly impossible for 98C German speakers to be promoted. I had an E-5 with almost 10 or 12 years TIG. Luckily, they changed my POC NCO to be language immaterial and I could finally get him his E-6 rocker.
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1SG Steven Malkowski
I was going to say the same thing as you CSM. Can't really count them, but he looks to have as many overseas bars as service stripes. That and the slow promotion MOS. He could also be a Guardsman. National Guard doesn't have the same "up or out" policy as AC. I knew many career SGTs and even SP4s. If there isn't an E-7 slot in your field, you don't get promoted. You can usually transfer to get promoted or change MOSs, but that possibly means long travel distances to drills, which some people can't manage due to family or work considerations.
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SPC Robert Henderson
SSG Randall P. - And he lost them when he was successfully court marshalled, reduced to E-1 rank, fined, and dishonorably discharged for desertion.
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MSG Richard Medina
That not the same SSG. One is infantry, the other is not. I couldn't expand the first pic to see his area of expertise other than being a SSG with many service stripes.
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SSG Timothy Lanham
SPC (Join to see) - A combat stripe is every six months in a combat zone. That is not an overseas award.
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LTC Tom Barbeau
MSG Richard Medina - I could enough to see the MI Corps crest over the NCO's pocket. Depending on his MOS i know MI NCOs who have had it be virtually impossible to be promoted.
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At the risk of opening myself up for debate, I thought I'd chime in...
I pinned my SGT stripes in Afghanistan in 2005 - after 8 years, 10 months, 24 days in service, and added the rocker at 16 years, 11 months, and 24 days...
A lot of commentary has been (and probably will be) made towards my career stagnation, and it is to be expected. Once I realized the error of this particular course of action, it was too late to do much about the fact that a lot of my bosses has less time in service than I had as an NCO. My own fault. However, making rank was not my priority - doing my job was. Yes, you will hear that a lot of times as an excuse or justification, but in my case, it was my choice and I was completely fine with turning wrenches, learning my job, then teaching my job to others. I felt then, as I do now, that there is entirely too much emphasis on "checking the block" and moving up without truly understanding some career fields where the loss of "institutional knowledge" can be very bad. Mine, 15T, or UH-60 Helicopter Repairer (otherwise known as "crewchief") was a field where moving up usually meant getting farther and farther from the flight line and farther - in my opinion - from the relevance I enjoyed.
Is it possible for someone to be a 20 SSG? Sure, I was. Does it necessarily mean that they are a "dirtbag"? Sure, for some. However, as someone mentioned before - just ask them. As proud as I am of the person I am now due to the experiences I've had, I wouldn't recommend following in that same mode of stagnation. Be great at your field, and look beyond the infamous and irrelevant "block to be checked" and *know* what it means to make a difference.
[End rant]
I pinned my SGT stripes in Afghanistan in 2005 - after 8 years, 10 months, 24 days in service, and added the rocker at 16 years, 11 months, and 24 days...
A lot of commentary has been (and probably will be) made towards my career stagnation, and it is to be expected. Once I realized the error of this particular course of action, it was too late to do much about the fact that a lot of my bosses has less time in service than I had as an NCO. My own fault. However, making rank was not my priority - doing my job was. Yes, you will hear that a lot of times as an excuse or justification, but in my case, it was my choice and I was completely fine with turning wrenches, learning my job, then teaching my job to others. I felt then, as I do now, that there is entirely too much emphasis on "checking the block" and moving up without truly understanding some career fields where the loss of "institutional knowledge" can be very bad. Mine, 15T, or UH-60 Helicopter Repairer (otherwise known as "crewchief") was a field where moving up usually meant getting farther and farther from the flight line and farther - in my opinion - from the relevance I enjoyed.
Is it possible for someone to be a 20 SSG? Sure, I was. Does it necessarily mean that they are a "dirtbag"? Sure, for some. However, as someone mentioned before - just ask them. As proud as I am of the person I am now due to the experiences I've had, I wouldn't recommend following in that same mode of stagnation. Be great at your field, and look beyond the infamous and irrelevant "block to be checked" and *know* what it means to make a difference.
[End rant]
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SSG Michael Montoya
LoL Same here, stated 67T... which eventually became 15T.... was never my plan to stay in for 20 years, but things kept happening so I reenlisted a few times..... my make or break was my 4th deployment OIF 2 and I was going to get out this time for sure *unless* and this is what I told my company enlistment guy, I can get Japan as my next assignment..... so he worked on it, couldn't do anything for me but pass the message along to the BN reenlistment NCO....so work...work....work...and a SGM in Brigade connected somehow with the BN reup NCO was at DA HQ or Pentagon wherever assignments come from... and he got not only a slot for me, but 3 other Tangos in my Battalion.... so I reenlisted and got a break from multiple deployments, multiple NTC, JRTC, CMTC, and local field problems. At that point I got a recharge and had one more reenlistment left which would take me over 10 and I decided to work on getting promoted and do my 20 years. My 2nd year in Japan I pinned E5, and when I spent the min time in grade I went to the promotion board again and 1 month after my points were good I made E6. My last half of my military career I worked as PCNCOIC in Japan, QC back at Hood, Maintenance Squad Leader at Hood, and then finished up as QC at Ft Wainwright...so I was rocking all those service steps at the end plus the combat stripes for 2 trips to Iraq and 2 trips to Afghanistan. Life is funny sometimes that way.
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SGT Joe Downs
SSG Ermey, God Bless and Keep You! I always admired the Crew Chiefs because they were the guys who made the birds fly........ as in UH-1C and D models that I dearly loved to ride. Got to ride with some "Cowboys" out of Vietnam who could fly a bird and literally make it dance in the air like Fred Astair! And the only way they did it was because their Crew Chiefs had their back and the bird was "needles in the green". You have my respect; you own your Honor and to me you belong in the midst of the "Best of the Rest".
No Slack, SSG, Airborne all the way! I'd buy you dinner, a beer, and back you up wherever and whenever you needed me. Come to East Tennessee, right outside of Knoxville up Highway 11-E to little ole' Talbott and I promise "Me Casa Su Casa". Rest easy on those laurels, you definitely earned them!
No Slack, SSG, Airborne all the way! I'd buy you dinner, a beer, and back you up wherever and whenever you needed me. Come to East Tennessee, right outside of Knoxville up Highway 11-E to little ole' Talbott and I promise "Me Casa Su Casa". Rest easy on those laurels, you definitely earned them!
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I'd much rather see a SSG with 18 years in than a SGT with no service stripes. My old unit had a mass exodus after deployment in 2009 and now there are 20-22 year olds on list for SSG... I think that's a worse problem worth discussing
than a SSG with 18 years in.
than a SSG with 18 years in.
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SFC Arthur Morgan
While can honestly say (due personal experience with a young/inexperienced soldier(s) wearing SSG) won't criticize your objection. Yet, can recall (long ago) as a private on first assignment with an Armored Cavalry Unit; meeting SSG tank commander (that had been 'rifted' from being an OCS O3 unit commander of Nam Era.) And had honor of retiring at same time as he retired 20 yrs later from same Regimental Command, as a CSM. SSG platoon sergeants weren't all that uncommon back then either, while similar forge produced both Officers & NCOs with repeated deployments in Combat Ops tours racked up, with much fewer years, than some of their peers. I personally can't find fault with that. However, as stated, such is not always case in point. Word to wise. Allow time to access real life experience versus number of years in service; can be food...for thought.
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1SG(P) Dean Mcbride (MPER) (SPHR)
SGT with no service stripes... We used to have terms for those... Instant NCO, Whip and Chill (for those who attend winter nco school), Bake and Shake (for the summer guys). They were funny not derogatory terms!
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He's been in 18+ years lol. No big mystery to it. Some folks don't make E-7 or some made E-6 twice.
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MSgt John McGowan
I want to add one thing, in my career field when you were promoted to a E8 there were 3 separate fields all rolled into the E8 rank. It was hard coming our of my orginial field.
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CW5 Edward "Tate" Jones Jr.
At the risk of dating my self, I joined before the VN build up. It took me nearly 3 years to make SP4; 8 months to make SP5 and another 8 months to make SP6. 5 more years to make SFC. Career paths, force structure and activities of the force all are variables that can affect the rate at which an individual is promoted. Took me 30 years to make CW5. ;)
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CPT Earl George
my boss in Germany(1975) made Major with 7 years 8 months in grade as a CPT. I went to ROTC summer camp(1970) and had a Major for an Instructor who had 5 years of active duty to his credit(2LT 1 year,1 LT 1 year, and CPT 3 years before being promoted to Major).
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He probably served at least 18 years, and I get my 6th service stripe next year.
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SFC (Join to see)
I got my sixth service stripe four months before I pinned SFC. Not unusual at all. Knew a bunch of guys retired at SSG.
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At this point I'll have 6 as a SSG, can't be promoted if there are no slots for 7.
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SSG Jason Penn
Been there brother.... retired as a 6 after 23 years. Name was #5 on the 7 list one month after my retirement was official. (board was in January, I retired in March, board results were released in April.)
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SFC (Join to see)
Wow, I knew that face looked familiar, yes he is an outstanding leader! oh the memories of that place!
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1SG(P) Dean Mcbride (MPER) (SPHR)
My grandson is heading for Goodfellow (as soon as he finishes Basic in Fort Jackson). For AIT in Signals Intel. I will tell his to look for this outstanding SSG!
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Could have NG time before Active duty. I had 5 as a E6 because I had NG time then went active.
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SSgt (Join to see)
SGT Wayne Coulter - but since you held the rank of SSG is that rank you have in retirement?
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SGT Wayne Coulter
SSgt (Join to see) - I went to Basic Training and spent the first almost nine years of my service in the Ohio National Guard (during which I attained the rank of Staff Sergeant) before transferring to Active Duty in 1989. The regulation at the time was that when transferring to Active Duty from the Guard you re-enter Active Duty at your last active duty rank which for me was E-2. Six months after I transferred to Active Duty, the regulations changed to lose no more than two rank grades, then during and just after Desert Storm they were allowing direct transfers with NO loss of rank. Needless to say I was livid. The hardest part for me was having been an NCO and seeing that things could or should have been done differently and being treated like I had no experience at all. I'd been a Mortar Section Leader and Platoon Sergeant and was treated like I was a basic trainee. It wasn't easy to deal with but eventually higher leadership began to understand I was more experienced than anyone else of the same rank. Still, when DA took the schools away from the units and started dictating who goes and who doesn't, all I could do was wait. By the time they tried to send me, I was injured (deliberately, by another soldier during PT) and according to AR-350-1 COULDN'T go because I was on a temporary profile... not to mention it was after I'd dropped my retirement packet and had a approved retirement date.
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SGT Wayne Coulter
SGT Wayne Coulter - To clarify, I retired as a Sergeant (Promotable) which was authorized by the then current RCP regulations.
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SGT Christopher Patnode
That's what I did. Was NG for a few years got out for 9 the went AD. Because of time out they dropped my rank but as an E3 with time in service I had E4s pissed I made more than them do to pay grade maxed out for TIS. The as E4 had ncos pissed I was maxed.
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