Not sure where 747ANC is getting his numbers from regarding nine years to command. Similarly, I'm not sure about the statement that there is no expansion. Currently, there are a minimum of 2 new command slots per month for at least the next 6 months and there have already been a number of upgrades this year.
The latest DEFO to be upgraded took 7 years to get that command and that is going to be about the time served for the next year or so.
If joining as a cadet, yes, it will take a lot longer as it should. The latest cadet to be promoted has been in KA 8 1/2 years - pretty quick from nothing to command.
There are many doom sayers here, but as usual, you can take their views as gospel or you can try and see there may be other sides to the story - there usually are.
Whoosh