I Have Asked Skinner to Lock This Thread as "Off-Topic"

[MADem]

276. Three years as an ensign was what first raised the stink flag with me.

During Reagan's build-up, ensigns (and 2nd LTs in other branches) were being frocked to j.g. with 14 months in, so eager were they to fill expanding billet requirements. And even an incompetent git got promoted at the two year mark.

Then, the whole 30 year career BS...I mean, come on--it's up-or-out and it has been for a long, long time. Even assuming that he got three looks at every promotion point (and those three looks swiftly degraded to two, and it was a rare soul who made it past that first failed look) he still would have been long past his sell-by date. You can take every scenario and apply some "special snowflake" reasoning to stretch the possibilities six ways to Sunday, and you still come up with something that doesn't pass a smell test. I mean, peeeeeeee-yew! It's just not believable.

The guy probably thought that since there were fewer people who served in the Coast Guard, that they'd be less likely to come after him if he started telling stories. I guess he thought wrong, because apparently there are enough, if not a large number.

I have to wonder if he ever tried this with an Army backstory, and didn't have the facts to back up the tales? Those Army folks are quite vigilant about those who claim service and experience that they haven't earned--and they waste no time taking care of business, either....!