18 years and still a E6?

ARMY STRONG!

Alot of the times it is what he hasnt done. Does he have a degree? Does he have his ERB updated to a "T"? There are things he needs to look at and if he has been in 18 years, he knows what & where he needs to go to get it fixed.

SSG Schramm
US Army 15 years
OIF 2003

Jam_Til_Impact

e may have done nothing wrong. I have had more than a few friends retire as an E-6 in the Air Force, and only one of them did something that would make them unpromotable. If you just don't test well, getting to E-7 can be not an easy task, at least it's that way in the Air Force.

Had I stayed in, I would most likely have been promoted to E-6 maybe 4 years ago, and have stayed that way, and I would have been in for 17 years.

There is another thing. Maybe he doesn't want to be an E-7. In the career field I was in, an E-7 would have made me an assistant shop chief, or in most cases a shop chief. I wasn't very happy as an E-5 with the paperwork I was having to do, and I am quite certain that the E-6 level would have REALLY annoyed me. Some people, like myself, like working. Had I made E-6, I would have worked on the jets less and less, and E-7, forget it. I would NEVER see a flight line.

Maybe E-6 is as high in rank as he can go and still enjoy what he's doing.

Hooligan

If he is in the Reserves or National Guard, it's not that unusual. There are guys that have over twenty that are only E5's. The one's that aren't really the "go getters". Active duty, he's definately not fast tracking. He should be around E-8, or at least a E-7 looking for his E-8. It could be a number of things: shady record, not passing PT test, not passing ANOC (school for E-7), his MOS (his job) is tough to get promoted, missing files among many other things.

cybersharque

First of all, E-6 is not a mean rank. It is one of the backbone ranks in the army. The jump from E-6 to E-7 is one of the hardest promotions there is.

There are many more promotable E-5's and E-6's than there are billets at the E-7 level.

A great deal depends on one's MOS. Some billets turn over more often than others because they entail getting shot at. One of the reasons why West Point Grads seek to branch infantry is because promotions come faster in that branch.

Of course, so do the real estate deals and the special retirement plans. (Remember, West Point selects for leadership potential, not necessarily the sharpest pencils in the box.)

"never got in any trouble or anything"

Wait a minute. He's a noncom. He's been in 18 years. Is his halo golden, silver or bronze? Seriously, unless you were to see his personnel jacket, you have no idea what's in there. But still, being in 18 years and holding the rank of E6 is not proof that he's done anything wrong. He just might not be judged ready yet to climb to the seriously senior rank of Sergeant First Class. There might be so little turnover in his MOS that TIS is more like 20 years.

The average time in service for selectees to E-7 is 13.6 years. That includes the infantry, which has a maddening tendency to burn up Platoon Sergeants and Platoon Leaders both. And it includes the rear echelons blokes, among whom E-6 is nothing to sneeze at, 'cos the higher-ups don't get killed or crippled quite as frequently.

The really challenging part of the jump to E-7 is that the soldier's unit has no input into the process beyond how it maintains the soldier's personnel records. The selections are made by a central board, based SOLELY on the content of the soldier's promotion records. The soldiers CAN write to the board to draw attention to something special, but are counseled against doing so unless there is something really really important that is not in the promotion records or present so subtly and tangentially that the board, which has to look at hundreds of files in each MOS, will miss it.

TheInternets

I know of a few people who retired after 20 years as an E-6. It's not unusual, it can be attributed to life situation, disability, not a good test-taker, didn't get along with supervisors, etc.

Bill P

I have seen hundreds of people retire at either E4 or E5. Your rank does not increase because of y our time in the service, it increases more as a result of how many of higher rank the service needs. There are MOSs that are non-critical where rank increases are very slow.

I would not worry about it. If he is a very good mechanic, he will have no problem earning a lot in the post service world and still retain his retirement benefits.

When my son went to work for the first time, I suggested that he look into several fields for an occupation:

food
toilet paper
auto parts/mechanic

Regardless of how broke someone is, they willneed food. Food will create a need for toilet paper, and if even if they don't have a job, they will have to keep their car (or other's cars) running in order to get to places to apply.

If the man enjoys what he is doing, let him be. If you have not "dug in his past" up to now, don't do it now or you will be out of the picture for sure.

Frederich S

Something happened in his past that caused his career to stall or he is not performing good enough to get the attention of his command to get promoted.

Annie

You don't mention the branch of service, but it would seem to be the Air Force by the rank you mention.

Part of the promotion process (and it is a huge part) is testing. In the AF, he would be required to take two promotion tests...one on knowledge of his career field (and this could include any jobs within it , regardless if he has done them or not) and one on knowledge of AF regulations, Test are given every year, but testing materials are updated evey two, so having the most recent set of study guides is important. In the AF, they are not allowed to study in groups or with the assitance of another person...it has to be done solo. Most will study for a good six months straight to get ready, many will start as soon as the new materials come out or after the last testing cycle is done.

The grades from these tests, added in with scoring for years in service, the last five EPR's (yearly reveiws) for the final promotion score. Each year, the score is adjusted as the availbale number of slots in the next rank in a specific career field will change. If your husband is in a very specialized career field, with limited slots available, he will need to score extremely high to qualify. This is true as ranks progress as well...the higher the rank, the fewer slots in general.

There are plenty of folks who retire at your husband's rank after a full 20 years. To my knowledge (again, limited to AF) he will not be eligable to go past 20 if he doesn't make E7

MadMaxx

Well apparently your husband is NOT a butt-kisser... good on em', lol!

First off, promotions can only happen if there's a slot open for an E7, second: he may have great scores but there could be a few folks ahead of him on the promotion list... and lastly... this happens quite a bit in all branches of the military both active and reserve. Retiring as an E6 happens to quite a few folks so it's nothing to be "embarrassed" about. My B.I.L. is in the Coast Guard Reserves and has almost 30 years in when he finally got promoted to E7. My sister did 20 years in the Navy and only made E6.

The bad thing is that your hubby may have to leave service at 20 years (assuming he's active).

oldsoftee2001

I'm assuming he's in the AF. This branch is the hardest to get good promotions in. Problem is that it all comes down to how well you can take two tests in a silent room over three hours. One on your job knowledge and one on basic air force stuff, history, structure, ... that crap.

Some jobs tests are stupid because they aren't really applicable to the job you are doing.

Case in point. I was a computer programmer. I never programmed anything. I tested programs, set up personal computers and trained people how to use them and the programs they had, worked on LANs and finally became a full time trainer on programming but never did the job.

It took me 10 years to get from E-5 to E-6 because the test was 40% Cobol, 30% fortran, 10% assembler and the rest was on general programming stuff. Languages I never used. I always felt the testing method was so unfair.

Nothing wrong with being an E-6. Believe me, he is beating himself up over it. And you are kind for not prying into it.

AFwife

im an AF spouse, but i have family in the army.....my husband is a 10 year E5 in the AF due to poor test taking skills. in the army (from what ive been told) promotions depend on alot of factors ........openings for that rank in your MOS being first of all.....then points and those points come from alot of things, reviews from your superiors (and alot of times to get a good review involves more than showing up and doing your job, you have to go above and beyond both on and off duty) also things like combat ribbons (which is sorta messed up because some MOS's never see combat so dont get the opportunity to get the same ones as the guys who do) there are so many factors that could hold someone back regardless of the branch they are in its really hard to say rather or not he has done something wrong or not........however if you are doubtful as to why he isnt telling you or why he is keeping you seperated from the military life then marrying him probably wasnt a very good idea. Ive known a few wives whose husbands kept them out of the loop on military stuff....and these women either ended up divorcing their husbands, or seriously losing it when their husband got deployed because they didnt know who to turn to.

tom l

Promotion is based an points, and points come from many sources. Everything from the ribbons on your class As, where you have been stationed/deployed, time in rank, to test scores and education makes a difference.
Little strategy on testing: The test is divided into two sections, one is your MOS/AFFC (job) the other half is general military. By studying hard on the half you score low in, at best, you will improve your overall score by 10 points. By studying hard on the portion you do well on, you can improve your overall score by sometimes as much as 40 points. So pay attention to how you divide up your study time.

For the poster above E-6 in the Air Force is "T/SGT" not SSG

john k

look at it this way, all actors don't win academy awards.
you have stability, support, and love.
not everyone becomes chief master sargent, he will eventually make TSG on time alone, and retire with a nice benefits.
good luck and enjoy the ride.

xxxVIPERxxx

Has he taken all the required BNOC, ANOC, PLDC, and such courses?

Any college?

Ever refused any schooling?

Attemepted to apply for any extra schooling? IE. Air Assault, Ranger, AirBorne, and the like???

Above average at PT?

Ever been in trouble? 17 years and only a Staff Seargent isn't doing well. I knew guys who only had 10 years in and were SSG, and on the list for MSgt already.

Volunteer for local community assistance programs?

Just doing your job and floating thru doesn't get you promoted. Being hungry for more knowledge gets you promoted quicker as an enlisted person.

Lastly, there may not have been open slots in his field for the promotion. These are all things that need to be considered, and looked into.

My assumptions are, he appears to have floated thru his job, and never really drove hard to move ahead.

As most GOOD NCO's by the time they hit 20 years are tapping SMG if not already been in that rank for a year or so...After that, it's the waiting game for CSMG... Tell him to check his promotion status, see if there is even a slot in his selected field....

sam m

No matter what is the questions or the answers and no matter what we think we are or what we thinks about who we are ,meaning either prisoner or the warden , rich or poor, you eat meat or beans you love or you hate you except or reject ,leftist or rightist , black or white ,religious or atheist, and all other species living with us on planet earth and beyond which we all share a common bond that's we are really one ,but there is a down side to our existence a hidden secret which kept from us and they continue to suppress the truth and to protect their system of deception from crumbling , and humanity will be free ,but are you really wants to know ,are you ready , I hope so ,and I hope SO called man in authority read it and TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE GAME IS AGAINST ALL OF US , HERE COMES THE TRUTH MY FRIENDS THAT WE ALL LIVING ON THIS PLANET AS A GUINEA PIGS , LIKE REALLY ANIMAL FARM FOR EXPERIMENTS. PURE AND SIMPLE LABORATORY

pickle

it could be that he doesnt want the next rank. I know a lot of guys that dont plan on staying in and want to get out as a spc. and not an sgt. and my hubby was one but he got bumped up to the next rank when his points got to a certain level. there is alot of pending factors.. There is one guy who has been in almost 15 yrs and is a sgt. doesnt want the rank and knowing him will retire as a sgt thou he would be a great ssg or even higher. so dont sweat it and realize its his choice well to some degree when rank comes along.

mariner31

In the current "smaller" military, it is NOT unheard of, and is actually fairly common. I'm not sure of the ARMY's advancement system, but the Navy has a Review Board in addition to just the testing/ points system for pay-grades E-7 and up.

I'm Ex-Navy, and have several friends in my old Rating (Specialty) that retired at E-6, or made E-7 only after 18-20 years. MOST often, it was simply a matter of them not taking on the "high-profile" collateral duties such as DAPA (Drug & Alcohol Counselor), CC (Career Counselor), etc.

One of my BEST friends was the top OPERATOR, but a politically incorrect SOB... he never made E-7. He was MAXED-OUT on awards points, time in rate, and his performance evaluations. Yet, politically CONNECTED guys made E-7 in 12-15 years... of course they could barely do their JOB.

In My old rate back in 1992-1996 (Aviation Warfare Systems Operator) because of the points system, time-in-rate, rating-quota, and number of candidates, it was simply a FACT that you would have to wait a MINUMUM of 6 YEARS after STARTING to take the E-7 test... even if you scored a PERFECT exam.

That's why I took my BA and MA and got a commission. Left the service as a Lieutenant Commander (OE-4) only 5 years after my commission.

HE MAY have a few minor busts back in his closet... but I respect your decision not to go digging.

rotorhead

He's been busted (demoted) a time or two and has done enough not to get promoted to E7 Gunnery Sgt. But, he is still good enough to keep around. Two more years and he will have his 20. Not bad. Who knows, if he is good enough to keep around this long, he may still pick up that next chevron. Don't hold it against him. He still sounds like a bust-your-*** worker or else the military would have let him go. Be happy. You will have enough on your plate getting used to the military way of life without worrying about his career. Let him do his job and leave his career for him to worry about. Good luck and welcome to the military.

south of france

You heard wrong. .

Mrsjvb

is it normal.. no not really, but there is nothing out there that automatically assumes he's a screwup. I have several friends who did 20 years and retired as E6s.. simply put, there were too many people in their job and they couldn't get promoted because there wasn't room for them. There are only so many slots available at each pay grade a year. He may be doing everything right and simply wasn't able to promote. not his fault at all.

axsooted

busted to private a couple times and has worked his way back to staff? 18 years is a long time to be staff if he's never done anything wrong.

DJ Cosmolicious

You married him and THEN decided to dig into his past? How's that cure for cancer coming?

Yes, that's a bad thing to only be an E6 at 18 years in. It's not unheard of, and in some career fields, it's harder to make rank. But E7 is normal for that many years in, on average. Doesn't mean he screwed up - he just may not be ambitious, or simply not qualified to serve at the higher grade. But it could mean he's had some disciplinary/legal problems in the past, too. When I was in the Army, we had a 1st sergeant who had busted from E7 to E6 twice, and had only recently crawled his way back up to E7 for a third time. Capable NCO, just couldn't hold his tongue when he should've.

Your name here, cheap.

Who are you to go behind his back like this. I wish I knew him so I could let him know how untrusting his "loving wife" is. I knew many great guys, hard workers etc that ended up retiring as e-5 and e-6.

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