You mean like Capt Reagan’s 8 year military career?
He may have worn a uniform but Ronald Reagan was never military...
...but he was a fantastic commander-in-chief.
When you say you would find it hard to support someone without military service time I take that to mean someone who served full-time for a significant time period. Not someone who took a little training but never really put in any field time. It’s just not the same thing.
I’m not arguing the value of military service for a potential CINC since I served over 20 years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. I am just saying that what is much much more important is a potential CINC having a correct understanding of the role the U.S. military plays in the elements of national power. Wesley Clark, for instance, may have been a general in the Army but from what I can tell would make a terrible CINC.