Changing jobs: how often is too often

In this economic climate, I'd say 2-3 years is ok. Definitely anything less than 2 years would raise a red flag.

Coming out of the military I've had 4 in under 4 years. I have no loyalty to these shite bag companies that laid off thousands. I've gotten more money each time. But I've moved from Alabama to Florida.

It took me 5 jobs to find the one that was something I could do each day - been with that job for nearly a decade now.

I loved two of my previous jobs but the ceiling was very low. I have to be challenged at work.

I had back to back jobs that were 10 months each. My current employer had some concern over it but I had a decent explanation for why each position was taken.

I've been with my current company for 1.5 years and could easily see myself here until retirement.

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Definitely anything less than 2 years would raise a red flag.

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That's what I'm worried about. It is possible that my same agency could have positions open up that would report to a different supervisor.
I may try to apply for one of those if the opportunity presents itself. That way on down the line, my resume would show that I stayed with the same agency, just took a promotion, rather than went somewhere new altogether.
Main risk with this is, if the hiring manager tells current boss "hey guess who applied for the opening working under someone else instead of you?"
Current boss makes a huge deal of SAYING how great I am, how much I bring to the office. But also won't let me even reply to an email that was sent only to me, without having a meeting about it and rehearsing my words (even though it is a topic I am considered the office expert on).

In my previous role, FWIW, I sent hundreds of e-mails weekly, corresponded with people at all levels, and did just fine. It's just a huge shift to be "moving up the ladder" a bit and have less freedom than ever.

The biggest difficulty is making the initial cut for the phone interview. At that point you can explain your situation. The main thing is having a good explanation. For example I quit graduate school after my first semester, but my reasoning behind it was my major professor wasn't up front with his expectations (lab research instead of field research) before I committed to grad school. I was and never will be "cut out" for lab work. I never had any "red flags" thrown because of it.

It seems that people jumping companies every 1-2 years is getting more common by looking at LinkedIn profiles.

The days of committing your entire professional career to a single company are pretty much over. With budget cuts anyone is prone to getting laid off. This has negatively affected employees loyalty to a company.

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Multiple jobs lasting under 2 years immediately gets your resume tossed from my pile.

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Even if they are at the beginning of their professional career and are moving up the ladder with each jump?

If you're switching jobs every two years then your new employer will invest just enough in you to keep you for a couple of years.