I resigned as a Captain on the promotion list to Major (it was a Clinton thing, you understand). My best times in the field were as a 2LT with my platoon....
Keep your feet clean and your powder dry.
/johnny
Ain't that the truth! The "light went on" for me during my first tac eval (a bit too late - I flunked). From that point on, I knew exactly what my platoons had to do to excel, and also what I could get away with as long as I showed initiative and imagination. It was great fun.
I made it as far as Captain, but never would have made the Majors list, thanks to a superior that played favorites.
The day after I received my OER from him, I put in my resignation papers. Due to the nature of my command (HQs unit), the first O-6 in my chain of command was the Base Commander at Fort Bliss.
Based on the metrics that I could be reasonably evaluated on, he and the five other O-6s in my unit were certain I was doing a great job. He was really pi$$ed when he saw the OER, but there was nothing he could do.
As word spread, "interested observers" started paying attention to the "leadership" being displayed by the Battalion Commander. As a result, he was never selected for Army War College.
Had circumstances changed, things probably would have turned out better. I got along so well with my last Battalion Commander in Germany, I went to work for him for another 18 months at Fort Bliss. I was his Operations Officer, which was an O-5 slot in that unit.
I'd say there were 3 positions that I enjoyed the most: Battery Commander, Platoon Leader, and Battalion S-4. The job that I came closest to despising was Systems Maintenance Officer/Motor Officer. It was a thankless, no-win job: my vehicle support was 50 miles to my east, my system support was 45 miles to my west, and there was never enough money for spare parts during the Carter Administration.
I was uniquely suited as Battalion S-4: my degree was in Public Accounting, and I filled in as the Battalion Property Book Officer for eight months before taking over as S-4. I had also been in the battalion for three years, so I knew all the key players in each unit, battalion staff, and group/brigade staff.
What made the job particularly rewarding was that I played a role in turning a C-3 battalion to a C-1 in 18 months. The "old man" rode us, but he let us do our jobs. I was fortunate to have fantastic NCOs and a CW3. Couldn't have done it without them.