I think that the very highest ranking military officials, which in the U.S. would by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, almost (?) always start either at the Service Academies or ROTC, and enter active duty as an officer (Lieutenant or equivalent) and then advance.
Has anyone ever started as a private (or equivalent) and made it all the way to the top?
Check this site. Both Vessey and Shalikashvili made it from private to Chairman of the JCS.
A formerly-enlisted officer is known as a Mustang Officer, and there are a lot of them. Some have achieved top positions in the flag officer ranks.
One example is John Vessey who became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
ETA: And Jeremy Boorda is the first enlisted sailor to become Chief of Naval Operations.
Admiral Boorda is a pretty good example.
enlisted as a private and ended his career as a Field Marshal.
I’m not sure what a spaghetti recipe has to do with this, but here’s the wikipedia link for mustang officers.
Tommy Franks went from PFC to 4 star general.
Jim Mattis (current Sec Defense) also started out enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and also ended up 4-star.
Cherry Puller attained Lt.Gen. from private.
Chesty
They used to call Napoleon “the Little Corporal.” Hard to think he never spent any time as a private. And he made it all the way to Holy Roman Emperor.
How do you know what he did in privates?
Napoleon was never an enlisted man. He entered the French Army as an artillery Second Lt.
Shalikashghetti carbonara. What a mouthful.
Does Adolf Hitler count?
I knew it was Chesty. Don’t know how that happened, I thought I proof read! We had a portrait of Chesty in our house when I was a child. Don’t turn over in your grave, Daddy, it was a honest mistake! Semper Fi
Nathan Bedford Forrest enlisted as a private at the outset of the Civil War and was a major general within a couple of years.
Private James Buchanan became President and Commander-in-Chief.
I actually thought thought that Field Marshal William Slim had been a ranker, but turns out he started out as a 2nd Lieutenant. Damn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Slim,_1st_Viscount_Slim
Interesting fella, none the less - commanded a division during the British retreat out of Burma, and then went on to command the Fourteenth Army in retaking Burma. Or, as he put it, “repay the debt and perhaps add a bit of interest”.
I wonder where the “Little Corporal” thing came from, then.
Here is a Dope thread from 2005 where this is discussed.