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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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It's really pretty easy to understand. Several possibilities could be affecting his current status.
1.) He could be in a MOS that is extremely competitive with no quick path up.
2.) He could be an OSVET (Other Service Veteran) and on a slow path.
3.) NJP. Perhaps in an earlier paygrade.
4.) Could be he saw action in a combative situation (You know, putting your butt on the line).
These are the possibilities in a quick response. Don't judge a leader by his stripes or medals. Leaders come in various conditions.
1.) He could be in a MOS that is extremely competitive with no quick path up.
2.) He could be an OSVET (Other Service Veteran) and on a slow path.
3.) NJP. Perhaps in an earlier paygrade.
4.) Could be he saw action in a combative situation (You know, putting your butt on the line).
These are the possibilities in a quick response. Don't judge a leader by his stripes or medals. Leaders come in various conditions.
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Remember this comes from the mind of a PFC, a PFC with probably one or less years in & doesn't know shit. I am proud to have been a Marine for 6 years & was an e2 twice e3 three times and e4 twice. Loved every minute looking back, but hated it when I was in. I wish I had the caliber to be a SNCO. This guys service stripes represent a lot of years talking a 2ndLt out of some really bad ideas.
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I recall as a young Lcpl (E-3) sitting in enlisted club at Camp Pendleton when a man with salt & pepper hair, 3 full boards of ribbons and PFC chevrons walked in. Pissed somebody off that is how it is possible. Doesn't mean he's a POS as someone said maybe just made a mistake and some stick in their butt ran with it. Old native american proverb- walk a mile in the other mans' moccasins before you pass judgement
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Not all billets are upwardly mobile. Some MOS are top heavy and promotion can come very slow. I would suggest you wait until you are no longer wet behind the ears before you start questioning someone with 18 plus years in. Right now you may think you know a few things, in reality you know very little about the way things really work.
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CDR (Join to see)
Hmmm. I read it as something that didn't match what he's been taught, and asking for some additional information. That's actually a smart thing to do, seeing as asking questions is a good way to learn.
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LCpl Michael Cappello
CDR (Join to see) - You are most certainly correct. The only stupid question is the one that is never asked. That having been said, I have found, over the years, that taking the time to accumulate as much information and experience as possible with any given thing helps one to formulate a more cogent query. I believe this explains why toddlers ask questions of a different nature than older children do. Therefore my answer was to gain some "real world" experience first. It was a question that was not of any intrinsic value, other than curiosity in and of itself.
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... aaand for those of you who don't know... when you ETS... and then return to service... you lose rank. I ets'd as an E5, and returned 3 years later, to be busted down to E2 and having to regain my rank. NO... you don't get the rank you had when you left back if you choose to return...
so there are many reasons why an E6 might have that many years of service, and combat...
An Article 15 can bust a high NCO down to private, but that now Private will still have all those stripes on their sleeves.
The only way to know the whole story is to ask the person themselves, instead of assuming ;)
so there are many reasons why an E6 might have that many years of service, and combat...
An Article 15 can bust a high NCO down to private, but that now Private will still have all those stripes on their sleeves.
The only way to know the whole story is to ask the person themselves, instead of assuming ;)
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First off during my Navy career service stripes denoted four years, until about 2000 when we switched to three years per stripe. It was damned confusing for a while. It was only after 1992 that E-5’s were no longer able to retire. In some jobs (MOS) somebody had to die or retire to move up. I was in an enormous rate Gunner’s Mate which had about 6000 guys in it. Suddenly the Navy retired all the Battleships after Gulf War I and now there’s about an extra 1,000 guys... At one point I went up for E-6 against 3,000 other guys for a total of two spots for advancement. That’s the post war peacetime service for you. Most guys in today have never been through a reduction in force or even a period of slow advancement. The average time to E-7 in my job in the late 80’s was 12 years, after the first Gulf War that jumped to 18. I’ve met guys who made E-7 in 8 years during the last few years. It’s all about timing. For you I’m afraid you’re going to face slower advancement for a while, but you’ll be trained by guys with loads of real world experience. Learn everything you can and volunteer for an MOS that’s critically undermanned and you should do fine.
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