Rambo,
I think your friend missunderstood what he was told. I think its 18mths for an accellerated command. And even then it only happens if no other 777 Fo is at the 3yrs point and ready to go.
So if you want to make a bit of cash. See if your friend is willing to make a bet on his command time. From the numbers shown on this thread, it would seem that those that joined at the beginning of 2005 might get a command in 2013. And that is still dependent on how many DECs they get in the mean time.
So if your friend is joining on the idea of a quick command, he may be disapointed. If he is joining because he likes sand, and has an allegy to sleep, he might do ok.
Don