This might help... it's how long you've got to be in the service to reach a rank. while this is peacetime, it can help get an idea...
US Army (USA) / US Army National Guard (USNG) / US Army Reserves (USAR)
Candidates who successfully complete Warrant Officer Candidate School are appointed in the grade of Warrant Officer One. When promoted to Chief Warrant Officer Two, warrant officers are commissioned by the President and have the same legal status as their traditional commissioned officer counterparts. However, warrant officers remain single-specialty officers whose career track is oriented towards progressing within their career field rather than focusing on increased levels of command and staff duty positions.
There are five grades within the Army Warrant Officer Corps. A person is initially appointed as a Warrant Officer (WO1), and progresses to Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2) after 2 years. Competitive promotion to Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3), Chief Warrant Officer Four (CW4), and Chief Warrant Officer Five (CW5) occur at approximately six year intervals for Aviation Warrant Officers and five year intervals for those in technical fields.
E1 PV1 (Private E1) -
E2 PV2 (Private E2) 6 months
E3 PFC (Private First Class) 1 year
E4 SPC (Specialist) 18 months
CPL (Corporal)
E5 SGT (Sergeant) 4.2 years
E6 SSG (Staff Sergeant) 8.5 years
E7 SFC (Sergeant First Class) 13.6 years
E8 MSG (Master Sergeant) 17 years
1SG (First Sergeant)
E9 SGM (Sergeant Major) 20.8 years
CSM (Command Sergeant Major)
E10 SMA (Sergeant Major of the Army) *
W-1 Warrant Officer -
W-2 Chief Warrant Officer Two 2 years
W-3 Chief Warrant Officer Three 8 years
W-4 Chief Warrant Officer Four 14 years
W-5 Chief Warrant Officer Five 20 years
O-1 2LT (Second Lieutenant) -
O-2 1LT (First Lieutenant) 18 months
O-3 CPT (Captain) 4 years (3.5 years)
O-4 MAJ (Major) 10 years (6.5 years)
O-5 LTC (Lieutenant Colonel) 16 years (9.5 years)
O-6 COL (Colonel) 22 years (12.5 years)
O-7 BG (Brigadier General) *
O-8 MG (Major General) *
O-9 LTG (Lieutenant General) *
O-10 GEN (General) *
O-11 GOA (General-of-the-Army) *
O-12 General-of-the-Armies-of-the-United States Only held only by George Washington.
US Army General Officer Promotions: You can get more "political" than promotions to general officer (also known as "Flag Officer"). General Officers (Flag Officers) are those in the paygrades of O-7 through O-10. Fewer than one percent of career officers will ever be promoted to Flag Rank. General officers are nominated for promotion by the President of the United States, and confirmed by the Senate. You can't get more "political" than that. The services hold in-service promotion boards to recommend officers for general officer promotion to the President. When vacancies occur (a general officer gets promoted or retires), the President nominates officers to be promoted from these lists (with advice from the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the applicable service, and the Service Chief of Staff/Commandant). Like the other commissioned officer ranks, Congress limits the number of General Officers that can serve on active duty. To be promoted to O-7, an officer must first complete a full tour in a Joint-Duty-Assignment (this is an assignment to a unit that is comprised of members from two or more of the services). This requirement can be waived, in some instances. The mandatory retirement age for all general officers is 62 (this can be deferred to age 64 in some cases). Under the law, an officer who has been promoted to O-7, but is not on the recommended list to O-8, must retire five years after promotion to O-7, or 30 years of active duty service, whichever is later. An O-8 must retire five years after being promoted to O-8, or 35 years of service, whichever is greater. The Secretary of the Service Concerned (ie, Secretary of the Army) or the President of the United States, can defer the above mandatory retirements, up until the time that the officer reaches the age of 62.
US Air Force (USAF)
E1 AB (Airman Basic) -
E2 Amn (Airman) 6 months
E3 A1C (Airman First Class) 16 months
E4 SrA (Senior Airman) 3 years
E5 SSgt (Staff Sergeant) 4.4 years
E6 TSgt (Technical Sergeant) 12.9 years
E7 MSgt (Master Sergeant) 16.9 years
E8 SMSgt (Senior Master Sergeant)19.7 years
E9 CMSgt (Chief Master Sergeant) 22.1 years
CCM (Command Chief Master Sergeant)
E10 CMSAF (Command Master Sergeant of the Air Force) *
'first shirt' or just 'shirt' is the nickname given to First Sergeants.
O-1 2nd Lt. (Second Lieutenant) -
O-2 1st Lt. (First Lieutenant) 18 months
O-3 Capt. (Captain) 4 years (3.5 years)
O-4 Maj. (Major) 10 years (6.5 years)
O-5 Lt.Col. (Lieutenant Colonel) 16 years (9.5 years)
O-6 Col. (Colonel) 22 years (12.5 years)
O-7 BGen. (Brigadier General) *
O-8 MajGen. (Major General) *
O-9 LtGen. (Lieutenant General)
O-10 Gen. (General) *
O-11 GenAF (General-of-the-Air Force) *
O-12 General-of-the-Air Forces-of-the-United States *
US Air Force General Officer Promotions: You can get more "political" than promotions to general officer (also known as "Flag Officer"). General Officers (Flag Officers) are those in the paygrades of O-7 through O-10. Fewer than one percent of career officers will ever be promoted to Flag Rank. General officers are nominated for promotion by the President of the United States, and confirmed by the Senate. You can't get more "political" than that. The services hold in-service promotion boards to recommend officers for general officer promotion to the President. When vacancies occur (a general officer gets promoted or retires), the President nominates officers to be promoted from these lists (with advice from the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the applicable service, and the Service Chief of Staff/Commandant). Like the other commissioned officer ranks, Congress limits the number of General Officers that can serve on active duty. To be promoted to O-7, an officer must first complete a full tour in a Joint-Duty-Assignment (this is an assignment to a unit that is comprised of members from two or more of the services). This requirement can be waived, in some instances. The mandatory retirement age for all general officers is 62 (this can be deferred to age 64 in some cases). Under the law, an officer who has been promoted to O-7, but is not on the recommended list to O-8, must retire five years after promotion to O-7, or 30 years of active duty service, whichever is later. An O-8 must retire five years after being promoted to O-8, or 35 years of service, whichever is greater. The Secretary of the Service Concerned (ie, Secretary of the Air Force) or the President of the United States, can defer the above mandatory retirements, up until the time that the officer reaches the age of 62.
US Navy (USN) / US Navy Reserves (USNR)
E1 SR (Seaman Recruit) -
AR (Airman Recruit)
FR (Fireman Recruit)
CR (Constrcutionman Recruit)
HR (Hospitalman Recruit)
E2 SA (Seaman Apprentice) 9 months
AA (Airman Apprentice)
FA (Fireman Apprentice)
CA (Constructionman Apprentice)
HA (Hosptialman Apprentice)
E3 SN (Seaman) 9 months
AN (Airman)
FN (Fireman)
CN (Constructionman)
HM (Hospitalman)
E4 PO3 (Petty 3rd Class) 3.1 years
E5 PO2 (Petty 2nd Class) 5.2 years
E6 PO1 (Petty Officer 1st Class) 11.3 years
E7 CPO (Chief Petty Officer) 14.4 years
E8 SPO (Senior Chief Petty Officer)17.1 years
E9 MCPO (Master Chief Petty Officer) 20.3 years
CMCPO (Command Master Chief Petty Officer)
E10 MCPON (Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy) *
CMDCM (Command Master Chief Petty Officer)
FLTCM (Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer)
FORCM (Force Master Chief Petty Officer)
MCPON (Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy)
W-1 Warrant Officer d
W-2 Chief Warrant Officer Two d
W-3 Chief Warrant Officer Three d
W-4 Chief Warrant Officer Four s
W-5 Chief Warrant Officer Five d
O-1 ENS (Ensign) -
O-2 LTJG (Lieutenant, Junior Grade) 18 months
O-3 LT (Lieutenant) 4 years (3.5 years)
O-4 LCDR (Lieutenant Commander) 10 years (6.5 years)
O-5 CDR (Commander) 16 years (9.5 years)
O-6 CAPT (Captain) 22 years (12.5 years)
O-7 RDML (Rear Admiral Lower Half) *
O-8 RADM (Rear Admiral Upper Half) *
O-9 VADM (Vice Admiral) *
O-10 ADM (Admiral) *
O-11 FADM (Fleet Admiral) *
O-12 Admiral-of-the-Navy
A person is initially appointed as a Warrant Officer (WO1), and progresses to Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2) after 2 years. Competitive promotion to Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3), Chief Warrant Officer Four (CW4), and Chief Warrant Officer Five (CW5) occur at approximately six year intervals for Aviation Warrant Officers and five year intervals for those in technical fields.
US Navy Flag Officer Promotions: You can get more "political" than promotions to general officer (also known as "Flag Officer"). General Officers (Flag Officers) are those in the paygrades of O-7 through O-10. Fewer than one percent of career officers will ever be promoted to Flag Rank. General officers are nominated for promotion by the President of the United States, and confirmed by the Senate. You can't get more "political" than that. The services hold in-service promotion boards to recommend officers for general officer promotion to the President. When vacancies occur (a general officer gets promoted or retires), the President nominates officers to be promoted from these lists (with advice from the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the applicable service, and the Service Chief of Staff/Commandant). Like the other commissioned officer ranks, Congress limits the number of General Officers that can serve on active duty. To be promoted to O-7, an officer must first complete a full tour in a Joint-Duty-Assignment (this is an assignment to a unit that is comprised of members from two or more of the services). This requirement can be waived, in some instances. The mandatory retirement age for all general officers is 62 (this can be deferred to age 64 in some cases). Under the law, an officer who has been promoted to O-7, but is not on the recommended list to O-8, must retire five years after promotion to O-7, or 30 years of active duty service, whichever is later. An O-8 must retire five years after being promoted to O-8, or 35 years of service, whichever is greater. The Secretary of the Service Concerned (ie, Secretary of the Navy) or the President of the United States, can defer the above mandatory retirements, up until the time that the officer reaches the age of 62.
US Marine Corps (USMC) / US Marine Corps Reserves (USMCR)
E1 Pvt. (Private) -
E2 Pfc. (Private First Class) 6 months
E3 LCpl. (Lance Corporal) 14 months
E4 Cpl. (Corporal) 26 months
E5 Sgt. (Sergeant) 4.8 years
E6 SSgt. (Staff Sergeant) 10.4 years
E7 GySgt. (Gunnery Sergeant) 'gunny' 14.8 years
E8 MSgt (Master Sergeant) 18.8 years
1stSgt. (First Sergeant)
E9 MGySgt (Master Gunnery Sergeant) 22.1 years
SgtMaj (Sergeant Major)
E10 SgtMajMarCor (Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps) *
W-1 Warrant Officer F
W-2 Chief Warrant Officer Two F
W-3 Chief Warrant Officer Three F
W-4 Chief Warrant Officer Four F
W-5 Chief Warrant Officer Five F
O-1 2ndLt. (Second Lieutenant)
O-2 1stLt. (First Lieutenant) 18 months
O-3 Capt. (Captain) 4 years (3.5 years)
O-4 Maj. (Major) 10 years (6.5 years)
O-5 LtCol. (Lieutenant Colonel) 16 years (9.5 years)
O-6 Col. (Colonel) 22 years (12.5 years)
O-7 BGen. (Brigadier General) *
O-8 MajGen. (Major General) *
O-9 LtGen. (Lieutenant General)*
O-10 Gen. (General) *
O-11 None
A person is initially appointed as a Warrant Officer (WO1), and progresses to Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2) after 2 years. Competitive promotion to Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3), Chief Warrant Officer Four (CW4), and Chief Warrant Officer Five (CW5) occur at approximately six year intervals for Aviation Warrant Officers and five year intervals for those in technical fields.
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