One item I skipped over in my reply that sorta ties in here, is that this does apply to all officer ranks, not just captains. However, 'captain' is by far the most common rank where this occurs. Promotion up to that rank is fairly automatic (keep your nose clean, get your job done), but when they're promoting to major, they're starting to scrutinize the candidate more closely, looking at who's got the best potential.
Once you make major, there's another big hump between 'colonel' and 'general'. Promotion to general more or less requires connections, skill at office politics, etc. Simply being good at your job is no longer enough.
Being competent at your job has sadly never been the only point for being retained in the military.
There are some people who are technical masters at their job, but aren't great leaders. In the US Army and US Marines, that's almost always a career killer.
(Great leader as defined by some vague and unknowable list of requirements in peace time. Even more vague in a shooting war)
that if you failed to make Captain, you were screwing the General's daughter, and if you failed to make 1st Lt, you were screwing his son. (Assume a male officer). This was, of course, a joke, but perhaps a fairly accurate rendition of how easy/automatic the first two promotions are. Beyond that, you don't actually get promoted, you get put "on the list" for promotion and wait for everyone ahead of you to get promoted, separate, or die.
However 1). Availability of promotion may vary by era and personnel needs 2). As of the time I was in (20 years ago, between Vietnam & the War on Terror) you could not get to half-pay retirement (20 years) if you go in as a 2nd Lt, and never get promoted beyond Captain. Some Captains retired, but they had prior enlisted time. I met two Navy Lieutenants (O-3, like an AF Captain) who were involuntarilly separated without getting retirement for failure to be promoted.
A Major/O-4 can get all the way to 20 years without further promotion, but not to 30. I think a Lt. Col can get 30 years in.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johno
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-10-21 01:32 pm (UTC)Once you make major, there's another big hump between 'colonel' and 'general'. Promotion to general more or less requires connections, skill at office politics, etc. Simply being good at your job is no longer enough.
Alex
no subject
Date: 2008-10-21 01:47 pm (UTC)There are some people who are technical masters at their job, but aren't great leaders. In the US Army and US Marines, that's almost always a career killer.
(Great leader as defined by some vague and unknowable list of requirements in peace time. Even more vague in a shooting war)
We used to say
Date: 2008-10-21 01:54 pm (UTC)However 1). Availability of promotion may vary by era and personnel needs 2). As of the time I was in (20 years ago, between Vietnam & the War on Terror) you could not get to half-pay retirement (20 years) if you go in as a 2nd Lt, and never get promoted beyond Captain. Some Captains retired, but they had prior enlisted time. I met two Navy Lieutenants (O-3, like an AF Captain) who were involuntarilly separated without getting retirement for failure to be promoted.
A Major/O-4 can get all the way to 20 years without further promotion, but not to 30. I think a Lt. Col can get 30 years in.