I'll Never be a General

Someone (thank you, Judy, your confidence in me is inspiring) wanted to know why I could not be a General. I’ll try to explain as briefly as possible (ha, ha, like it is really possible for me to be brief when discussing a complicated topic in which I am considerably invested). There are two general entry ranks into the military, Private (enlisted) and 2^nd Lieutenant (commissioned officer). The majority of military personnel serve their whole career within their chosen rank structure. Commissioned officers have no other option—they may resign their commission if not promoted, but if they are not competitive with their peers they may not rip up their commission and enlist. Their commissions are signed by the President and instituted by Congress, they must have a 4 year college degree, and they serve an initial obligation of at least 4 years. Commissioned officers are the white collar professionals of the military, and provide the executive functions.

Enlisted personnel, on the other hand, may aspire to a commission. Given the concurrence of their chain of command, once they achieve the appropriate education (usually at their own expense, during off duty hours), they may apply for a commissioning program. Enlisted personnel, the blue collar professionals of the military, bring a unique perspective to the table, and a different set of experiences to the table than the average college grad, and the non-commissioned officer (NCO) and staff non-commissioned officer (SNCO) corps are routinely referred to as the ‘backbone of the Corps.’ Based on practical leadership vice executive potential, the Services purposely commission as many as 20% of their officer corps from the enlisted ranks. Enlisted personnel generally provide the management and performance functions, and there is generally no Marine more respected in any command than the First Sergeant or Sergeant Major.

Warrant Officers bridge a gap between the enlisted and the commissioned corps, restricted to specific military occupational specialties (management and performance functions) but still entrusted with company to field grade responsibility (executive function). All warrant officers come from the enlisted NCO or SNCO ranks, and are selected by both technical competence and leadership criteria. Very few opportunities exist to transition to the commissioned ranks from the warrant ranks, though it is not unheard of (I know of two Marines in my 24 year career that have been members of all three rank structures). Given that whenever a Marine transitions to a new rank structure he begins at the bottom rung on the new ladder, and given about 25 years of service to achieve terminal rank in any one rank structure (or two structures in the case of enlisted to warrant), for me to achieve the rank of General I’d have to apply for a commission, ‘revert’ to a 2^nd Lieutenant, and climb all the way to General in less than 15 years.

Exceptions to this may be found in inter-Service transfers (enlisted Marine becomes army officer, air force officer becomes army enlisted, etc.) but these are outside of my knowledge or experience (urban legend or hearsay).

Semper Fi, Jon G.