Well, I did look up your Master Chief of the Navy and he is a total warrior, from starting in Weapons to Intelligence up to DIA.
LOL, being ex-Navy around here often demands a thicker hide...and sometimes for good reason, too! Sometimes I admit it is a little embarrassing.
It has been my opinion that “political hires” are more difficult to get in the enlisted ranks than they are to advance through the upper ranks, though it is true they do exist as we know. I didn’t know anything about the CMSAF, and when, out of curiosity I looked at his Wikipedia entry, his nickname hit my funny bone...:)