How does an E6 have 6 service stripes?

Okay, this is a NAVY reserve story... During my time in the reserve the most long-term sailor we had retire had over 40 years. He joined just after WW2 and retired as an E6 (First Class Petty Officer) with an arm full of good conduct (GOLD) stripes on his sleeve in 1985.

I was in the Army National Guard for some time. I personally know E-5 that have 7 service stripes and are the most squared away NCO you will ever find, or soldier for that matter. It depends on open slots and points if you get promoted or not. So I personally see this as not that unusual especially if you are talking about the Army National Guard.

Four years and even officers have service strips.

Wow the NCO corps really has gone to shit, reading some of these replies.

Easy, he could be a reservist.

Not knowing the total context of the photo, it's hard to say. But it is not uncommon. Like it was mentioned slow pro mos, career choice there ate so many reasons. He could of had a breakvin service. I have a buddy getting ready to retire next yearcwith his 30 that had a 10 year break in service. cost him a a strip up front and prob a strip or 2 promotion wise to leave. but we all make career choices, that's part of life

Heh I was1 year away from 5 stripes as an E-4. Hit E-5 on my very last day as a medical retire.

To a large extent it depends on your Rate or MOS to you non-seafaring types. As an Electronics Technician, I made E-6 in under six, and I goofed of for my first three years. Other rates took a lot longer, for example Photographers Mate, another rate I had looked at had an average time in grade of 6 years to make E-5. Yea, he could have been a screw up, I replaced one ET-1 who was busted back to undesignated SN for gross incompetency, so yea it happens. I also served with a CPO (E-7) who once got busted from E-5 to E-3 for punching out a O-1 while both of them were drunk and stupid. I suppose in today's services that would rate a BCD or something, but I served before we had a kinder gentler military. LOL

I retired in 1994 after 20 years of active duty as a 95B Military Policeman. I did every job available except drill and recruiting (just not my thing) and served in Desert Sheild/Storm. In the years before retirement when I was prime for th 7-list, the Army promoted less than 1% of ALL E-6s eligible....and guess who those went to. Drills and recruiters. Even though I made the list my last year in and could have stayed, I read the writing on the wall and retired never looking back. After 18 years in, I spent the last two with those 6 service stripes and proud of every last one.

I was active duty, then did 6 years in the reserves then came back into the Active component. I was an E6 for 8 years due to screwy TIS/TIG calculations from my reserve time. I ended up getting promoted to E7 with 22 years BASD for pay AND i was a 1/1 NCOER for all but 2 of my time in the active army. Before you judge a person based on a picture, shit in your hand and put it in your mouth. SOME MOS's such as Chem have almost NO E7 positions. 10,000 E5 -> 5,000 E6 and 200 E7. (that is how it felt) To make E7 I had to go special operations. Just for the record, as an E6, I was the S3 SME and was paid more than all but one E7 in my battalion. THis guy probably has a break in service and or a MOS with a tight pyramid of promotion potential.