what a lot of folks don't understand is that once you pass O-6, you're nothing more than a politician with a weighted collar driving a desk. as you climb the last few rungs, the more of a politician you become with greater influence over TRADOC - that's where the poison is. The norm is in retaining these generals and admirals since they've been in so long, but the truth is, they need to be recycled. civilian policy should never bleed into military ops and vice-versa; each is a mutually exclusive body; the military simply cannot function under such divisiveness - everyone is equally worthless and a dime-a-dozen and it's in that, you find camaraderie.
My father (an E-5 when he got out) used to say you could never trust anyone above O-3.
wise man. the 'indoc' really starts to kick in at O-4, seeing that most 0-4s will be considered the XO (exec. officer) at battalion level (nomenclature depends on org). in other words, that's when the officers really get out beyond the company level and really get to see the man-behind-the-curtain as it were. Once a full-bird gets his star, give him command of whatever MAJCOM, COCOM, or whatever line he's in for a year then send him packing. metrics can be pulled as well to see how these commanders (admins) are developing and implementing policy, so I think their tenure should be based on that, similar to how I think teachers' efficacy should be 'measured'
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