Army Wants to Spot-Promote Officers Moved into Hard-to-Fill Jobs

The did this to General Patton as well from LTC to Captain after WWI. But the military can just Frock the officer for that position like they did for General Grange in Serbia (?). Then the Scouts go off on a bogey bait run and get captured by the Serbian Army while nestled in their Humvee.

Always confused me, he was a General for the war , they knocked him down in rank and then sent West to fight Indians. I can see that, but were they on 20 year retirements then? What your true rank when your done? The money could be significant.

Sgt Dale Briggs - This was rampant after WWII as well. Basically, the regs as we know them and the current promotion rates were always there. If officers promote under the normal advancement reg time like those are their Permanent ranks. In fact, I think the current HIGHEST permanent rank is Major General. 3 and 4 stars are based on the positions the general fills. In almost all cases they simply retire when they are not given a position of progression.

Never mind Custer. Eisenhower was only a Full COL at 7-DEC-41. So between the start of the US involvement in WWII he went from O6 to O11. All the generals around that time that advanced quickly as well got reduced or retired. If they wanted to stick around after WWII and there wasn’t a Corps to command and only could get a Battalion they went down from MG to LTC.

As I understand it, at retirement one retires at their highest rank they served. For example, a MSG in the 80's put on Gold Oak Leaves his retirement ceremony. He was a field commission from the Vietnam, but he stuck it out 20 years to get that MAJ pension.