Alvarez finally gets promoted, and –like a lot of people freshly promoted– he starts thinking about the next step in the ladder. And why not?

But in the US military, there is a group called the “E-4 mafia”. This is an unofficial group, and it spans all branches of service. The Army has them, the Navy and Marines have them, the Air Force… I’m sure even the Space Force, although they may be called E4-D2 or something, because SPAAAAAAACE!

What is the E-4 Mafia? Is it a real crime syndicate? No, not really, although they may be involved in… stretching the rules a bit.

When most people enlist, they enlist for a set period of time, generally around 3-4 years. You are pretty much guaranteed to become an Enlisted level-4 within that time frame. In the case of the Army, that is a “Specialist”. Most people get out at that time, while those that stay in go on to become Corporals and Sergeants, and continue to climb the ranks as NCO’s.

The “E-4 Mafia” is therefore just senior enlisted personnel who have been in for a few years. They know where the best hiding spots are, they know how to read the demeanor of higher-ranked people by tone and body language, and they know how to get out of an area and “look busy” to avoid getting caught up in tedious, demeaning, tedious, and stupid tasks. It is more art than science, and represents an awareness of social tone and “street smarts”.

How do they learn these arts? Is there a class, an official mentorship? No, not really… but there are wiser, “career E-4’s” that acts as Jedi Masters, guiding young soldiers towards wisdom.

Parallels to Yoda? perhaps; I shall neither confirm nor deny… .