From Khaki to Blueshirt

Thank you for sharing this story. I didn't know the "O-to-E" option was open these days. A very long time ago, I ran into my first previous-officer Sergeant. One of my duties as a 1 Lt copilot was to file the flight plan at Base Operations. We were supporting an exercise at Cannon AFB and I went to the ops desk to file the plan. The ops NCO who took it was a Tech Sergeant (E-6) wearing Command Pilot wings. (Command pilot requires 15 years rated service and 3,000 flying hours.) I asked our aircraft commander about it on our way out to the C-130. The Captain explained the two-strikes-and-you're-out rule of promotion. He also enlightened me that some officers opt for enlisted status to complete their 20-year service to retirement. At the time (pre-DOPMA), it was not as uncommon as it may be today. Some Reserve Offices were asked to return to inactive Reserve status or offered the opportunity to continue on active duty as enlisted personnel. Some chose to serve out their time, then put on their officer uniform and retire in their highest grade. Some had a "hip-pocket" commissions as high as Lt Col. DOPMA "fixed" that by dictating that all Reserve Officers on Active Duty must become Regular Officers before 7 years of service or leave active duty, but DOPMA kept the two-strikes rule.

A few years later I ran into a Staff Sergeant who was a twice-passed-over Captain. He was busily suing the Air Force over discriminatory statements in his OERs that caused his failure to be promoted. He won the suit and his record was expunged of offending OERs and the court directed he be promoted to O-4. He went to work one day as a SSgt and was sent home to put on his officer uniform as a Major because the Service acted according to the court's ruling. He retired at 20.

TSgt Joshua Copeland
I've never actually met Sailors like this but have heard about it happening. It almost happened to a former Division Officer of mine. She was about to not be recommended for promotion from LTjg to LT because she could not pass the oral board for her Surface Warfare Officer qualification pin and she was thinking about reverting to enlisted status so she could continue her career.

Luckily she finally passed her oral board, third time around. She had to get permission to board again, as I believe the rule on our ship was 2 failed board and you were done. I could be wrong.

Had no clue this was a thing.