# Has anyone ever risen from the lowest possible military rank to the highest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946 "2017-12-20T20:31:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/1 "2017-12-20T20:31:59Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/2 "2017-12-20T20:39:53Z")
Check [this site](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/spaghetti-carbonara-3220423). Both Vessey and Shalikashvili made it from private to Chairman of the JCS. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/3 "2017-12-20T20:41:36Z")
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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Vessey_Jr.) who became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. ETA: And [Jeremy Boorda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Michael_Boorda) is the first enlisted sailor to become Chief of Naval Operations. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/4 "2017-12-20T20:43:24Z")
[Chuck Yeager.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager) > [@](#): > > Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager (/ˈjeɪɡər/; born February 13, 1923) is a former United States Air Force general officer, flying ace and record-setting test pilot. In 1947, he became the first pilot confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight. > > **Yeager’s career began in World War II as a private in the United States Army Air Forces.** [1] After serving as an aircraft mechanic, in September 1942 he entered enlisted pilot training and upon graduation was promoted to the rank of flight officer (the World War II USAAF equivalent to warrant officer) and became a P-51 fighter pilot. > > After the war, Yeager became a test pilot of many types of aircraft, including experimental rocket-powered aircraft. As the first human to officially break the sound barrier, on October 14, 1947, he flew the experimental Bell X-1 at Mach 1 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m). Scott Crossfield was the first to fly faster than Mach 2 in 1953, and Yeager shortly thereafter set a new record of Mach 2.44.[2] > > Yeager later commanded fighter squadrons and wings in Germany, and in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and **in recognition of the outstanding performance ratings of those units he was promoted to brigadier general.** Yeager’s flying career spans more than 60 years and has taken him to every corner of the globe, including the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/5 "2017-12-20T20:43:43Z")
[Admiral Boorda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Michael_Boorda) is a pretty good example. ---
**Author:** ![Premislaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f0a364/32.png) [@Premislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Premislaus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/6 "2017-12-20T20:43:56Z")
> **[Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_William_Robertson,_1st_Baronet)** > > Field Marshal Sir William Robert Robertson, 1st Baronet, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, DSO (29 January 1860 – 12 February 1933) was a British Army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) – the professional head of the British Army – from 1916 to 1918 during the First World War. As CIGS he was committed to a Western Front strategy focusing on Germany and was against what he saw as peripheral operations on other fronts. While CIGS, Robertson had increasingly poor relations with David ... enlisted as a private and ended his career as a Field Marshal. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/7 "2017-12-20T20:51:44Z")
I’m not sure what a spaghetti recipe has to do with this, but [here’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustang_(military_officer)) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/8 "2017-12-20T20:52:12Z")
Cherry Puller attained Lt.Gen. from private. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/9 "2017-12-20T21:03:07Z")
Chesty ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/10 "2017-12-20T21:14:03Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/11 "2017-12-20T21:16:35Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Cherry Puller attained Lt.Gen. from private. > [@chacoguy](#): > > Chesty How do you know what he did in privates? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/12 "2017-12-20T21:19:54Z")
Napoleon was never an enlisted man. He entered the French Army as an artillery Second Lt. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/13 "2017-12-20T21:42:56Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Check [this site](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/spaghetti-carbonara-3220423). Both Vessey and Shalikashvili made it from private to Chairman of the JCS. Shalikashghetti carbonara. What a mouthful. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/14 "2017-12-20T21:51:06Z")
Does Adolf Hitler count? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/15 "2017-12-20T21:55:11Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Chesty 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 ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/16 "2017-12-20T22:33:37Z")
Nathan Bedford Forrest enlisted as a private at the outset of the Civil War and was a major general within a couple of years. > **[Nathan Bedford Forrest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest)** > > Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealth as a cotton plantation owner, horse, and cattle trader, real estate broker, and slave trader. In June 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate Army and became one of the few soldiers during the war to enlist as a private and be promoted to general withou... ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/17 "2017-12-20T22:39:44Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > 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? Private James Buchanan became President and Commander-in-Chief. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/18 "2017-12-20T23:20:13Z")
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](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”. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/19 "2017-12-21T00:50:41Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > 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. > [@silenus](#): > > Napoleon was never an enlisted man. He entered the French Army as an artillery Second Lt. I wonder where the “Little Corporal” thing came from, then. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946/20 "2017-12-21T01:32:27Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I wonder where the “Little Corporal” thing came from, then. [Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=308528) is a Dope thread from 2005 where this is discussed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-risen-from-the-lowest-possible-military-rank-to-the-highest/804946.md?page=2)