How long did men have to serve in the US army until they were promoted to sergeants during WW2?
score:10
Your question is premised on some incorrect assumptions:
Casualties were not that high. The U.S. Army enlisted over 11 million men and suffered less than 500,000 killed and MIA, only a bit more wounded (but many of whom returned to service). Overall percentage killed was 2.2%. Yes, the U.S. military is known for its long tail, but even for the pointy end of the sword the percentage killed over the entire 4 years is certainly much less than 10%.
Enlisted men aren't promoted beyond Corporal based on length of service. Leadership roles go to leaders, and in each batch of recruits the potential leaders would be promoted to Corporal early on. Barring truly exceptional battlefield performance, future sergeants are promoted, based on merit, exclusively from these early leaders.
Most sergeants, and the best sergeants, are considerably older than both their men and their lieutenants. Long experience, both in life and in service, is a prerequisite for a good sergeant. Only very exceptional men between the ages of 18 and 25 can hope to possess the maturity looked for in a sergeant. This means that throughout the four years of the war, sergeants were mostly drawn from the older recruits and the existing cadres of corporals in December 1941.
Sergeants must be respected by their lieutenants, who will usually be several to many years younger. The most foolish man in the army is a Second Lieutenant who won't request, and take, the advice of his lead sergeant. Again, this respect is given based on both the greater combat/military experience of the sergeant, and his overall greater maturity. Age matters.
Sergeants are technical experts; the experts in each platoon and company. It is not necessary that he be the very best, but he must be amongst the three or four best, for every single task that his unit members must perform. A primary responsibility at all times is the instruction of his men into better soldiers. This requires intelligence, character, aptitude, empathy, and maturity.
So if you are wondering what sort of new recruit in Spring 1942 might get promoted to Sergeant by sometime in 1944:
- already aged late twenties or early thirties
- amongst the smartest few men of his company;
- amongst the most consciencious few men of his company;
- stands out across the entire range of company activities as very competent; and
- stands out as a leader and mentor in bootcamp and gets an early promotion to Corporal.
Note that the biggest percentage, and thus most difficult, growth in the size of the U.S. Army had already occurred by Pearl Harbour: roughly eight-fold from just 184k in late 1939 to 1,142k in December 1941. It would double and a bit in 1942, double and a bit again in 1943, and only increase by another 14% in 1944. Most of the senior sergeants and warrant officers required by 1945 were probably already in uniform by late '41 or early '42.
More post
- 📝 How were small swords worn in the 18th century?
- 📝 What is the difference between the union free state and the territories controlled by the federal government?
- 📝 Why Antarctica was never conquered before the advent of the modern men?
- 📝 Are there any reliable documented records of members or operations of the French Resistance during World War 2?
- 📝 Strange jeep-hold cable used during Operation Horev
- 📝 Spanish Influence on the Netherlands and Belgium?
- 📝 What was the reason why Americas didn't take to buckwheat as a crop?
- 📝 What type of ferry boats were used in England in the early 19th century?
- 📝 How to validate a historical source
- 📝 What was Finland's position in World War Two?
- 📝 Is there a Greek myth of Poseidon "dating" his daughter in the form of a dolphin?
- 📝 Did Europeans ever trade Eye Aids (telescopes, spyglass, etc) to the Native Americans (1608 - 1850)?
- 📝 Why did Al Smith win six "Dixiecrat" states, and very little else?
- 📝 Did Stukas support Schmalz Panzer corps and what about air interdiction?
- 📝 How big was the IMF loan Britain received in the 1970's?
- 📝 What was Poland's posture during the Seven Years' War?
- 📝 What political party did Stalin belong to?
- 📝 Why did the US enact compulsory education?
- 📝 Why was the Cuban Revolution (1953-1959) ultimately successful?
- 📝 Why did the "Ruthenians" break up into "Belarusians" and "Ukrainians?"
- 📝 Transatlantic Zeppelin trips usually took > 100 hours. How did they stock enough food, and where did they sleep?
- 📝 In what year was the conquest of the Incas completed?
- 📝 Why were nomadic tribes (like the Mongols) from the Eurasian steppes a much reduced threat from the 15th century onwards?
- 📝 Did Frederick Douglass affect British policy during the American Civil War?
- 📝 WWII - documents on turn around point in German Foreign strategy - "stop we are not going to pass Finland to USSR"
- 📝 How did AIDS generate losses? And what are the methods to compensate for them?
- 📝 What was Texas called after gaining its independence and why was it called that?
- 📝 At what point did noblemen stop being the backbone of the military?
- 📝 Why did it have to be Clausewitz who wrote the best book on war, namely On War?
- 📝 Why did hobos (at least stereotypically) carry their belongings in a cloth on a stick on their shoulder?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How long did men have to serve in the US army until they were promoted to sergeants during WW2?
- 📝 Were bookshops 'common' in the late 19th century, and how did they differ from modern ones?
- 📝 How did people say “I have to go to the bathroom” before the bathroom and pipes were common?
- 📝 Did Spain and the Republic of China (Kuomintang) have diplomatic relations between 1931 and 1939? Were they friendly or unfriendly?
- 📝 How could black men serve as officers in the US army during segregation?
- 📝 How did the Dutch East India Company (VOC) have so much revenue when they only control small part of Indonesia?
- 📝 How long did Adolf Hitler serve on the front lines as an infantryman in WWI before becoming a courier?
- 📝 Did any nation have a demonstrable qualitative advantage in their soldiers of the 18th century, and how did they achieve this?
- 📝 Were there commercials in the original broadcast of the moon landings, and how much did they go for?
- 📝 How many troops did the Confederate and Union army have in each year of the Civil War?
- 📝 How long did it take arriving passengers to become indentured servants and where did they stay until then?
- 📝 Did people from the cities of Uruk, Ur and Sumer have knowledge/recollection of how old their cities were (say, recollection after 2000 BCE)?
- 📝 When did the Romans finally acknowledge that they were living in an empire?
- 📝 Why did Europe not see Roman-era numbers of men participating in battles until the 17th century?
- 📝 Did any British working class men have the vote before 1918?
- 📝 Were there ethnic Russians in Alaska when the US purchased it 1867? Did they stay?
- 📝 How did people react to Cavendish bananas when they first replaced the Gros Michel strain?
- 📝 Were secret treaties ratified? How did they become official while remaining secret?
- 📝 How many lives were estimated to have been saved by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs?
- 📝 Did they actually have "mushroom cloud tourist attraction" to Nevada Test Site in the 1950s?
- 📝 How long did it take for a diplomat to travel between Berlin and Vienna in the 1770's?
- 📝 How did people have access to ice in warm areas before the industrial revolution?
- 📝 How long did it take to get news of the sighting of the Spanish Armada from Land’s End to London?
- 📝 Why did the German air force lose experienced pilots faster than the Allies, even though they were defending their home airspace?
- 📝 What historical reasons did the Nazis give for hating the Jews? How did they identify non-practicing Jews?
- 📝 What reasons did the Confederacy have for believing they would have a quick victory?
- 📝 How much of an impact did the Roman emperors' civil wars have on their decision to debase the coinage?
- 📝 How long did it take for a letter to arrive in England in the 1830s?
- 📝 Did courtiers of antiquity hold in their pee or did they have common commodes available in the king/queen's court?
- 📝 How long did it take to build siege engines in the middle ages?