I don't think the ad referenced his rank; the AP story did. And now - surprise, surprise - the AP story's been corrected to show his rank as staff sergeant.
“And now - surprise, surprise - the AP story’s been corrected to show his rank as staff sergeant.”
That I can believe. My brother made E-5 (Staff Sergeant) in four years. I only made it to E-4 (plain old “Buck” Sergeant in those days).