In ‘Nam I worked for a CWO3 and I swear that man had the best job in the Army. He was a veteran of WWII, Korea, and two tours in Vietnam. He had worked his way up to E-8, then got his warrant and had made it almost to the top there. Great guy - treated me like I was family.
I worked for a guy who was a SFC (E-7). He went to PA school, became a "Doc" and made it to CW3. Then in 1991 they commisioned the PAs and he became a Captain overnight. He retired as a Major back in 1998ish. He was hired back as a GS12 and retired from the Civil Service in 2011. Passed away two months later.
He never lost his crusty "Chief's" attitude, but he had a heart of pure gold.
RIP Charlie. When I was a young Captain you taught me a lot.