Time in Rank

I am hoping that our sundry current and former military personnel may be able to shed some light on a topic which I have been pondering for some time: namely, the approximate time in years that an individual can expect to serve at a particular rank before becoming eligible for promotion. What I am looking for is the minimum number of years and a rough idea of the maximum (the point at which, should you fail to gain a promotion yet again, that you might be encouraged to 'retire' from service... if such a practice even exists), so I can develop a set of rank-based advancement packages (both officer and enlisted) for CODA.

So, I guess that would be me, then. ;) Or, at least, I'm faster than BCQ or Sarge today. That's what I get for getting to work at 0630. :p

If I recall my officer promotion schedules properly:

Ensign (ENS), 1 year
Lieutenant, Junior Grade (LTJG), 2 years
Lieutenant (LT), 5 years
Lieutenant Commander (LCDR), 5 years
Commander (CDR), 5 years
Captain (CAPT), 5 years
Rear Admiral, Lower-Half (RDML), and above, by appointment only

I believe the Navy used to award top LTJGs an early promotion to LT after only one year in rank, but they would have to serve 6 years as a LT before being eligible to promote to LCDR.

Also, promotions in the Navy are based primarily on the needs of the Navy, specifically the billets that need to be filled. The Navy generally limits the number of promotions to the number of billets they anticipate having to fill in the upcoming year, so strictly-meritorious promotions (like the crew of the starship Enterprise going from ensigns and lieutenants to commanders on the same ship) are rare.

Another note: Officers seeking promotions to ranks of LCDR and above are selected by a board that looks at everything from performance and seniority to fitness test results and how good the officer looks in his or her uniform (being a good representative of the ideals of the naval service, including fitness requirements, is still relevant).

In Gene's Navy, there was more forgiveness for officers who fail to promote, as an officer could stay at his or her rank for an extended period of time until he's eligible for retirement after a 20-year career (that is, barring true cause, like being convicted of a violation of the UCMJ).

In today's more competitive environment, the Navy, I believe, allows an ensign, lieutenant, j.g., or lieutenant one failure to promote at each rank. If the officer fails to promote a second time at the rank, then they are forced to resign at the end of their obligated service. (I have to admit that I'm not as certain about those rules on ENS or LTJG...they may or may not have more leeway, although, hearing it from officer friends, you have to be really screwed up to fail to promote to LTJG, and pretty screwed up to fail to promote to LT.)

Lieutenant Commanders and above are not given that one grace, and are not allowed to continue past the end of their obligated service if they fail to promote even once.

That goes pretty much the same for the Air Force. If you are passably competant you can make from 2nd Lt to 1st LT in 1-2 yrs and 1st Lt to Cpt in another 2-3 years. As Sea Tyger said, for ranks greater than O3, there is a review board. Typically, a person can only get passed over once, otherwise they're out. To get to Major is about ~5 yrs, Lt Col. ~5 yrs, and Col ~5 yrs.

Also a reason for the practically automatic promotion within the first 4-5 yrs is that many officers who were on scholarship sign up for a 4 yr min commitment and these days, those who become pilot candidates are 10 yrs, even if they don't cut it in the pilot training program I think. Well that's the way I remember it when I was in AFROTC about 5 years ago.

The time table for te Army is about the same, but with the shortages the Army has on meeting it's recruiting goals for officers, mainly due to being the largest of the services, they get a bit more leeway, offcers are only removed if they get passed over twice.

Correct me if I am wrong but I remember reading that there is a "zone" for promotion. This zone is the time when promotion to higher ranks are considered. So, Sea Tiger, is the years that you list is that the beginning of the zone or the end?

The numbers I gave are the time-in-rank requirements as I remember them. So, a lieutenant would need to spend 5 years in rank to be eligible for lieutenant commander.

The promotion "zone" is something that I've heard of in recent years (I don't recall ever hearing the term when I was still in uniform 11 years ago), but I'm not up to speed on that. I would assume (a dangerous thing, I know) that the zone begins after minimum time requirements are met.

If you can give me a couple days, I can actually ask some of my officer friends here on campus and find out for you. :)

I'm not 100% sure about the other services, but for the army you have a primary zone and a secondary zone for promotions. The primary zone is just that, you have served the prerequisite number of years as proscribed by the regulations. The vast majority of people are promoted from the primary zone. The secondary zone is a shorter amount of time that critical fill job skills, or what they call "fast-track" leaders CAN use to fill critically needed slots. However, the emphasis for these promottions is clearly on the "can use" part of the sentence. They are for the needs of the army and not so much for the person. True "fast-track" can advance a soldier quicker than normal, but you have to have proven leadership far, far, FAR beyond the norm for the chance to fast-track. The vast majority of secondary zone promotions are in hard to fill, few in number job skills (AKA "a low-density MOS), and critical positions.

I don't know how other branches do it for enlisted personnel, but if my memory serves me, E-1 to E-4 is done by Time in grade, time in service, and have a passing APFT (Army Physical Fittness Test) on record during the past six months. Of course, Commanding Officers are given a set amount of waivers for non-NCO enlisted soldiers, for soldiers who show their value to the unit and meet a number of requirements, but don't meet the regular requirements. I remember this much for certain since I was my units part-time admin specialist while the normal one was on leave.

Beyond E-4 (not including CPL (which is an NCO rank @ E-4)), one must go to a board, and pass the APFT. These two things and past certificates of appretiation, and awards, equal up to a point value of no more than 800. Each MOS then has a different point value assigned to it to be considered for promotion. The less numerous the MOS, the higher the Promotion points required. Of those who meet the minimum, it is chosen by highest to lowest, until the required number is reached.