Hmmm. Sounds fishy. I knew a dope that was an E-5 after nearly 20 years, but that was almost unheard of.
You could be right, I thought she was a sweet woman. But after all her time in the Military, (cook), she was easily walked all over. That could explain it especially if she didn’t stand up for herself like others would.
On the other hand after she was out and retired, she really blossomed, went to college and last I heard was doing quite well in the Accounting area.