“He was an O-6 on his last assignment. The Colonel usually had about 26-27 years of service and was not going to make BG.”
Sometimes, those guys make good CO’s with zero career goals, and if they decide to retire on a positive note/
Yes, he would have been an O-6 on his last assignment. He most like has been an O-6 for six or more years. This is typical as they usually go to where they want to retire or the closest post to that location. My father was an O-5 when he was first assigned to CONARC at FT Monroe, VA. Our
neighbors were mostly Air Force or Army officers too, as I could walk to the back gate of Langley, AFB then. FT Monroe was about a 15 minute drive east. The retired Col. near us had been Post Commander on his last assignment. He was a WP type plus the local WP recruiter. He also taught math and French at a local high school military academy. I got good advice from him.