McPeak was and is still currently regarded as a buffoon by the Air Force. Stands to reason he'd be on Kerry's list of military advisors.
Didn't he get cashiered as Air Force Commander in Desert Sheild for running his mouth off?
Absolutely, Merrill was the idiot who dictated among other things that all AF members within ACC would wear V-neck tee shirts to show their chest hair and look like "Manly men". Even other generals laughed about him and told jokes about him. He was a fighter jock who pulled too many G's and starved his brain (if he ever had one).