There's an interesting book by Tom Ricks, The Generals, that's also congruent with this article: https://jakeseliger.com/2012/12/18/the-generals-tom-ricks. Ricks points out that there's a distinct differences between incentives / consequences for front-line troops and generals. Since the Korean War, we've basically insulated generals from consequences for failure; they get fat paydays, admiration, and cushy consulting gigs after retirement regardless of performance. Which is not true for front-line troops. In other words, high-level commanders have no skin in the game: https://www.amazon.com/dp/042528462X.