He was in Red Squad. I'm joking sort of (Red Squad didn't even exist yet) but even in real life military academies we have top of class etc I think (such as people noting the late John McCain was near the bottom of his class). Presumably Kirk may have been near the top. We got such an introduction for Valeris in ST6 for example.
He's wearing a different badge in pictures of him on location. I think that shot of him wearing the Delta on the bridge was just a staged promo shot and doesn't represent something that will happen in the show. Or at least not with the Delta but the badge he's wearing in the location shoots. Or I could be wrong!
For one thing, because to get where he'll be in TOS - captain of a top-of-the-line starship - he's already rising through the ranks faster than most. Early intent on Roddenberry's part was for him to have commanded at least one vessel prior to Enterprise. That may be where they find him next year.
Keep in mind it was established that Kirk was captain at all of 32 years old. So he's already supposed to be a young prodigy that Pike would be aware of.
Would Kirk have taken the Kobayashi Maru test by now? Maybe. It would be interesting to see a timeline of Kirk's career. In TWOK it is established that Saavik is already a lieutenant back at the academy for 'command school'. Her uniform is even a regular one, not the cadet uniform that the other trainees wear. That said, if Kirk appears on the show as captain of another vessel, then it stands to reason that he has already taken the command course and the KM test by then. Although if we are ten years before TOS and Kirk takes command of Enterprise at age 31, he would literally be fresh out of the academy here. (Age 21)
There. Cadged that off another website, and while I'm not sure if this is the 'official' version of Kirk's career or not, I know I've seen this before. Realistically speaking, this timeline of his career makes no sense at all. He's assigned to starship duty his first year at the academy, and is immediately promoted to lieutenant (skipping two full grades) upon graduation. Ten years later he takes command of the Enterprise. We all 'get' that he's supposed to be some kind of prodigy, but it's all a bit of a stretch, unless we're in a period where the Federation and starfleet are undergoing unbridled expansion, and starfleet officers are in critically short supply.
They just went through a war with the Klingons and lost many personnel. There are probably some open positions.
To get command of a First Rate ship, like a STARship, Kirk would've had to have had a smaller command. You don't become captain of an aircraft carrier right outta the gates. Also, a young officer rising through the ranks and becoming a captain whilst still in their 20s is both a trope of STAR TREK and sea fearing fiction.
My memory on some aspects of Canon are fuzzy. When does Spock meet James Kirk again? I seem to recall something about Axanar, and the two becoming "brothers". Has that happened yet as of the current timeline of SNW?
If it is 2259, Kirk has graduated from SFA. Uncertain if he is a Commander and is a First or Second officer?
More of a metaphorical thing. I don't think Spock was at Axanar. Kirk seems to be saying what ever happened at Axanar strengthened the ties between the worlds of the Federation.
Spoiler: more info Kirk is wearing Captain stripes and a unique badge in the photos, and imdb lists cast for Farragut officers.
Yes, he took it when he was at the Academy. No, actually, Saavik's uniform was in fact a cadet's uniform, as indicated by her red turtleneck, red being the color worn by cadets. The jumpsuit uniform was in fact originally intended to be the uniform for enlisted personnel, with the red collar specifically indicating a trainee as opposed to the black collar for regular enlisted personnel. Granted, this has been forgotten by history with everyone assuming the jumpsuits were meant to be cadet uniforms to the point that Tom Hardy was wearing one in the picture of him as Cadet Picard in Nemesis. But Nemesis was the one which made the mistake. Canonically, there is no indication of when Kirk and Spock first met, with various tie-ins postulating it to be as early as when the two of them were at the Academy or as late as just before WNMHGB.