I always give applicants extra points for military service. However, I just received a resume that listed 6 years of Army experience in the 80's and left as a PFC. I've never seen that before and not sure what to think.

What do y'all think?

Sounds like he got busted back a time or two while he was in the service.

Would that show up in his DD214?

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Would that show up in his DD214?

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Probably not if he was administratively (NJP) reduced rather than the result of a prosecution by court martial. If his reenlistment code on the DD-214 is RE-I then I would not worry about it. There's probably a lot more relevant information on his employment qualifications over the past 25 years than an undistinguished period of enlistment. On the other hand, an RE-IV is definitely an adverse situation.

You also need to take into consideration that promotion rates and timelines were WAY slower back then than the Army now. NCOs would normally retire as a SSG/E6 after 20 years. So, six years as a PFC isn't entirely out of line for the Army of the early '80s.

The guy could have also been in the National Guard. As clarythedrill pointed out, promotion timelines used to be slower, they were even slower in the Guard. In the mid-90s, I had a soldier who was an E-4 Specialist with at least 10 years in. I suspect he had been busted back a time or too but I didn't really know. I also had a Vietnam Veteran E-6 in my platoon with at least 20 years in.

Also, if the guy was a Guardsman, the reason he would have listed 6 years of service is because you need 6 "Good Years" in the Guard to be considered a "Veteran" by most programs. I haven't looked it up in a few years but I think the Texas standards are 90 days of Active Duty while the Federal standards are 180 days. Anyway...

It may just be that they guy wants to be upfront and honest about his military service. When you're applying for jobs, a lot of companies want to know if you're a "Veteran". Probably more companies nowadays than wanted to know 15-20 years ago. In the 1990s, they just wanted to know if you were a "Vietnam Era Veteran" since that was a protected employment class.