Young 26 year old colonels are like a relic from WWII.
The initial high-ranking officers in a war owe their positions to politics. After they get themselves and others killed, the war-savvy officers rise no matter what their ages are. That’s my opinion, anyway.
I am a Lieutenant in the Navy O-3 with 5 years commissioned service and I am 30 years old. However, I was 4 years enlisted before joining an officer program.
In the Navy. Your an Ensign for 2 years. As long as you are promotable on your Fitness Reports you will be promoted to O-2 Lieutenant Junior Grade. It is the same thing. As long as your promotable on your Fitness Reports you will be promoted to full Lieutenant O-3 in two additional years or 4 years commissioned service. To make Lieutenant Commander O-4, you must be selected by a board, and an officer is not eligible for this until he has been a full Lieutenant for 4 years, that is when he is in “Zone”. So he can be selected for Lieutenant Commander as early as his four year point but he will not pin that on for another year. The last year of the “Zone” is 6 years from when he makes Lieutenant. Which means he could pin Lieutenant Commander on 7 full years following the day he pinned on O-3. For an officer graduating from the US Naval Academy at 22 years old, he could become an O-4 as early as 33 and as late as 36. There are exceptions, but this is pretty typical. The same process is similar for the next couple ranks, but they have different timelines. I am most familiar with O-4 since that is the next one I am looking at.
My father served as an aircraft commander during the Second World War at the ripe age of 22. (1st. Lt.) Most officers were about that age during WW2.
It only stands to reason the officer corps of the U.S. military was considerably younger in WWII than is true today. We quickly geared up a huge military after the Pearl Harbor attack and a lot of young officers were commissioned to positions of authority and promoted quickly out of necessity. Officers have historically been promoted quickly in times of major wars.
Different wars, different times.
1) In WWII, a college degree was not requied to be commissioned.
2) In WWII, the attrition rate was slightly higher than today.
My dad was 22, a LT (j.g.) in charge of an LCT (Landing Craft, Tank) on Utah Beach.
A very complex subject, not well explained by anecdotes. In general terms, young officers could be found in World War II because of the rapid expansion of the military caused by the war. This was especially true in the Air Corps. Regimental and Division commanders tended to be older than you find today simply because the old, peacetime officer corps generally held these positions. Battalion and company commanders were typically in their 20s and 30s and were selected based on ability from the group of officers who joined after the war started. There were also a fair number of older officers appointed directly from civilian life filling specialty roles in law, logistics, administration. Not too many 26 year old colonels, but lots of 60 year old ones.
Most officers today follow a normal progression: commissioned at 22 with a college degree, 4-5 years as a lieutenant, 5 years as a captain, 5 years as a major, 5 years as a lieutenant colonel. A few move along a bit faster. The war has speeded up promotions, the Army especially is short of officers at most grades. A number of officers have come back on to active duty from the Guard or Reserves, so their are a fair number of officers who are older than their contemporaries. What you won’t find are boy wonders like we saw during WWII and to a lesser extent during Vietnam. Tough to get a commission without a degree or several years of enlisted experience, so 18 year old lieutenants are pretty rare.
Most of the senior Marine officers in 1941 were >40. Puller, Edson, Vandegrift, del Valle, Henneken and Geiger were all experienced combat commanders.
Without knowing the reason for the promotion, the camparison may not be all that meaningful. My Dad made Captain in the Army, in 1943, by age 23. But, that was largely because the other officers senior to him in his infantry company had been killed.
A cousin of my grandmothers joined the army at 17 and was field promoted to Lt at 19. He stayed in after WWII and fought in Korea and Viet Nam and retired as a Master Sgt.
I have a picture of my father becoming a major (by Gen Mark Clark) in Italy 7/12/44. He would have been 25. He served 1940 to 1946 then became a reservist and was a lt col when he died in 2004. Happy Father’s Day, Dad — I miss you!