I worked with several of these guys in the early 1990s.
After the Soviet Union fell, the newly democratic Eastern European republics (Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria) offered to allow our military personnel to basically take apart and put back together several high-end Soviet jets and other armaments (fire control systems, missiles, some radars).
The US Air Force directly commission several PhD-level aeronautic and electronic engineers as O-3 captains. I led a team providing computer communications to their distant-end deployments at various former commie air bases in those countries.
One was a real a$$hole who “ordered” me to give him more bandwidth. I was a SMSgt (e-8). He had jumped all over one of my Tech sergeants and his crew. I politely told him to FO. We were using STU-3’s with X.35 modems. The best we could get was 1200 Baud. Hungarian phone lines in 1993 really sucked. The USAF didn’t want to provide the cash for satellite downlinking, so that was that. He complained to my CO, who asked him, “Well, did you do as the Sergeant said? (that is, FO)”
The rest were great guys who just wanted to get the job done and then the Hell out of there and back home.
My only experience was with a rear admiral who was part of the SALT II negotiation team. Mid to late thirties, expert in soviet missle capabilities - also PHD level stuff.
For my 30 min with him as his assigned driver, he was an ok guy.