How does an E6 have 6 service stripes?

Not to sound crazy, Specialist O'Hara, but most of us don't go from Specialist to Staff Sergeant in less than 5 years. To be a SSG with 18 years of service is not usual...I made my SFC at 19 years of service.

I had a great soldier in my Conpany retire as a Specialist. Not sure how he stayed in as long as he did, but he was a model soldier that never quite had whst it took to be an NCO, and ge was ok with that. He retired in 2004 or 2005. Kind of made me wish we maintained the specialist ranks. He should have been a spec-7

This seems to come back as promotions as a good reason. I was in I have seen a great cycle of promotions and very bad cycles. I had friends because of career fields retire as E5 and E6 that was qualitifed as I was because of career fields. Direct a/c support were promoted at 440 points and it took me 460+.

I don't wanna come off as bitter or disgruntled because I am an SSG with 6 service stripes, I've done things that I know wouls stop me from ever getting promoted and would do it again, but this is the dumbest question I've read on here.

I guess I will show my age a bit by reflecting that many NCOs retired as E5 when I joined in the early 1980s

I have served with some superb NCOs who had 18-22 years of active duty service. Yes, it can be very tough to attain SFC.

When I retired, my mother, a LTC's wife, asked me my rank and I said E-6. She said "We didn't do very well in that department, did we?" I laughed and explained with three breaks in service, an Art 15, and serving in Navy and Army, it was pretty damned good. I made Say at 23 and retired at same rank, had a real good time.

I retired as an E6 with 30 years in the Army Reserve. I already drove an hour and a half to a battle assembly. To get an E7 Slot I would have had to drive 4 hours to a unit that had and E7 slot. To me that was nuts. How was I going to do it? You just can't take off work an heaven help you if you worked 2nd or 3rd shift. They said oh after a year you can come back. By this time I was deployed for a year guess what happen when I came back from deployment. The Unit I was a member of was relocated to Mississippi! Luckily I was transferred into a unit in the same building I was attending Battle Assemblies. Otherwise My career would have ended.

It's not uncommon to retire as an E6 I made rank very fast, then stayed an E5P for 9 years. I wasn't a dud, but with no college and working in the field I was in 798 points for ever no way to get promoted.

He’s probably a 92F honestly. E-7 is hard to get to in this MOS.