Question
Maverick's military rank is a recurring theme during the movie.
Was this supposed to be satirical/funny or is it telling us something about the character?
How realistic is it even?
My understanding was that the Navy has an "up or out" rule, where at every evaluation cycle, you're either promoted or fired. So IRL he simply could not be a Captain at his age.
Answer
It is not realistic at all. "Up or Out."
Assumption: Maverick was 27 during the events of the first film. In order to have the rank of lieutenant (Mav wore two bars in the first film, so Lt), he must have 9 years in the Navy and going ROTC would put the start of his career at 18. So 27 assumes he is at the youngest end of possibility in 1986.
The events of the film Maverick are 35 years later, so Maverick is 62. Mandatory retirement age for a naval officer is 64, so Mav is okay on that front. The problem is the Navy's "Up or Out" system, under which, if you get passed over for promotion to the same rank twice, they discharge you from service. In 35 years, Maverick was promoted through the following ranks: from Lieutenant ==> Lieutenant Commander ==> Commander ==> Captain. So, just three promotions in 35 years, averaging one every 12 years or so. The problem is that Maverick would have had to have been passed over for promotion way more than twice for at least one of those ranks, which would have put him out of the Navy.
By my reckoning, Maverick would have had to have been a two or three star admiral (and no longer eligible to fly) in order to still be in the Navy at that point.
Mav's not the only one with a problematic rank.
Rooster was 3 or 4 during the events of the first film (we'll say 3 for the sake of argument). That would make him 38 years old at the time of the events of Maverick. In the film, he is only a Lieutenant Junior Grade (jg)... which means he too must have been passed over for promotion more than twice and would have been out of the Navy. A Naval Officers are typically Lt. Commanders at a minimum by age 38, unless they joined the Navy much later in life. I guess that is possible, since he claims Maverick delayed his career by 4 years, but even at 34 he would have been more than a LtJG.
Answered By - ruffdove
