How does an E6 have 6 service stripes?

You have no idea how many times he got to make E3. Not everyone's path is without steps backward.

He could have been prior service. Then returned to service accounting for the extra stripes.

When I was a 45B the points for e5 were 798, the only way for my most to really move up was to become a recruiter and get a meritorious promotion by earning your ring or Morrell award. I spent 8 years and still left a cpl. It sucks to be in an oversaturated field especially getting the shaft while having a 93 qt and 123 gt asvab and choosing an most because you love it. They promised me e6 within a year if I converted and I passed on being a 79R for personal reasons. USAREC Mafia at its finest. Bohica!

There are a lot of dead end MOSs. In my old MOS, there were only 7 or 8 E7s in the army. It was ridiculous. This is probably and example of that. Or perhaps he declined E7 for personal reasons.

This is a question being asked by someone who still gets rank automatically. Get some experience and check back with me in 5 years, if you're still serving.

My Uncle was SSG when he retired and he could not advance any further do to a medical waiver for an injury he sustained in an auto accident on the AUTOBahn in Germany and the reinjury of the same during a security sweep in Germany a few years later due to car bomb going off. The injury was severe enough he had to get a waiver to remain in until his retirement after 20 years 6 months in.

He hasn't got promoted yet or he is promote bless either way some MOS promotes slow which is understood, this not saying he did anything wrong it just happens.

I remember an E6 I was stationed with overseas in 1993. He was in Vietnam and wasbonly an E6 when I met him. It was the MOS, there were so few E7 slots.

I served from 1988 to 2008. US Navy 1988-1994, US Army 1994-2000, US Air Force 1994-2004, US Army 2004-2008. Each time I changed branches I lost rank by 2 or 3 grades. I was medically retired in 2008 for injuries received in Iraq. As an E-5 with 19 yrs 11 months and 16 days in service.

Thats normal all services depending on what your MOS is. Some dont move others get lucky and have quicker advantages for promotions. Ive seen incredable NCO's who havent gone up in rank and pieces of crap yes men move up fast. I noticed in the last 15 yrs of my service the military has gone to shit. You see yes men promoted and people who take care of their troop s 1st not. Ive seen the all about me thing going on. I was actually told i was lazy because i gave a opertunity to a troop instead of taking it for myself. Dont get me rong there are great NCO's that are lucky enough to get promoted though i would still wastch my back if i was a troop.