[ARandomerDude]

Former USAF officer here. Part of the problem is that a Major or Lt Col does not have the rank or budget necessary to pull off a project of that scale. They are still too low on the chain, and too easy to override and then scapegoat when the project fails. Moreover, the officer system is "up or out" meaning that a field grade officer will always be incentivized to prioritize short-term paper gains over long-term strategic gains. This is a bad thing when designing critical infrastructure. A more senior officer with longer tenure and a bigger budget (i.e., a General or SES) needs to run a project intended for millions of users in a defense context.

[sushsjsuauahab]

Appreciate the perspective, I didn't realize that there was much higher up to go :) Makes sense!