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In my experience, it was the same in the Marine Corps LtCols had the most influence/caused the most problems. And I did command an artillery battalion for 18 months quite happily.

The "only a LtCol" comment is meant to be wry. I'm happy with my career, since I started as a private at the very bottom end of things.

It's sort of a runnng joke I use: when I attended a 40th high school reunion I was asked to make a speech and one of my friends introduced me as "Lieutenant Colonel Chainmail". I told my classmates that 400 years from now, archaeologists will find my tombstone , carefully brush the sand from the letters and read "LtCol Chainmail USMC ret" and then he'll turn to his comoatriots and say "I wonder why he didn't make Colonel?".

sic transit gloria