I don’t quite know with the Navy, but this does actually happen in the Air Force. Buddy of mine had an associate’s degree (2 years of college) and managed to skip up to NCO status, if barely. My knowledge of sponsorship is a little sketchier, but possibly still does happen from time to time.

And thanks to my kiddo for looking into joining the Navy at one point, so I actually had a “cheat sheet” for ranks…

Thanks for reading,
Mitz