Sigh.
"Teddy" Suhren actually took command of U-564 before his 25th birthday (albeit not by much). So did others. Whether they commenced combat patrols or sat around twiddling their thumbs is not really the point.
And this is where you are missing the point. You are assuming that every person who plays SH3 plays full combat from the first patrol. Some, like me, don't.
I always take at least one training patrol simply because I want to get my ObLt rank (an SH3 limitation) before starting my *real* career. This is gameplay compromise #1.
Starting in a combat flotilla instead of a training flotilla is gameplay compromise #2. There are limited flotilla slots that shouldn't be wasted.
Surprisingly, this is why all the setting changes SH3Cmdr makes are editable. So YOU can tailor it to suit YOU. THAT was the point of my earlier post. Don't like being under 25...change it. Just keep in mind that all dates are linked: there were promotion time-based rules as well.
There will be no changes in this regard in R2.8. I maintain what I stated above: if that brings the average age over the period 1939-45 down by ~12 months, then there's less for you to complain about later in the war, isn't there.
