[quote=@Eschatologist]
I understand that, trust me I do. Vehicle crew ranks function slightly differently for one, and I figured that because Zeon got so fucked during the war [to the point that they were essentially out of pilots to let the goog and dom win] promotions would be fast coming.

The thing is, Sergeant Major is E-6 for Zeon, E-9 for NATO. So while you're right that he is in fact way to young to be an SM if he were serving under the USA, it would only take 8 or 9 years to reach E-6, which is the amount of time he has been serving. In addition, he is serving during a time when experienced pilots are almost all dead, so there is plenty of space for him to fill and plenty of impetus for him to get promoted.

It is good to see someone else with some knowledge of the military however. So often I get into military RPs then cringe because no-one can reach the unrealistic standards of that most pedantic of beasts: the Military History major on forum RP sites.
[/quote]

Ah, you are correct, I didn't notice that the Zeon military structure is a very short compared to the NATO standard. And you are also correct about the vehicle crew ranks. I just always equated Mobile Suits as the evolution of aircraft (seeing as they're used in space as well as on earth, and often serve alongside other flying mobile armors), which was why I assumed "Aircraft/Mobile Suit = Officer Pilot"