To retain technical know-how and leadership capabilities, the services created the E8 and E9 ranks. The real problem is that law says an officer must have a college degree. Perhaps that should simply be removed as a barrier for qualified leaders and technical members.
What law says an officer must have a degree? The Navy has non-degree officers.
Shoot, in the USAF, you probably won’t make E-9 without one. That’s an Air Force issues.
When I was in service, all of the USAF E8 and E9 ranks that were promoted had college degrees, often from the remote colleges that had a presence on base.
I served as an USAF SMsgt and have a Bs and a pair of Associate degrees.
The Air Force ‘added’ E 8 and E 9 to remove the WO corps.
Unfortunately, with the rise in on-line ‘matchbook’ colleges, getting a degree is no longer the big deal it used to be, back in the day.
BTW - Matchbook college is the kind that advertises on the back of matchbooks and tout they are “Nationally Certified.”
In the fine print you see this disclaimer - “Credits are unlikely to be accepted elsewhere”
Another sign of the accelerating dis-integration of the US Nation-State.