Company command timeline

From captain onward, an Army officer's professional timeline is all about filling "key developmental" (KD) billets. For most basic branch captains, that means doing company command (MI is a little different -- you can do command or be an S-2).

The question is: when and where should I start looking? If you try too early, you step on your more senior peers' toes. (I can also imagine you come off as self-centered to your chain of command.) Yet if you delay too long, that's time *not* spent on other opportunities. This is particularly important in Korea because you don't want your command time to outlast your DEROS (Date Eligible to Return from OverSeas).

I asked my boss how best to approach the situation. The answer was to wait six months before interviewing for opportunities within the brigade; ten months for units outside the brigdade, and with the commander's knowledge.

It can be a tricky thing because colonels don't like to lose talent, and you never want to burn an O-6's bridge.