you do it one of two ways…suck-up to the political class…or become a warrior and wait til you are needed…Patton was a great example..Ike need him to win the war..most wars start with the U.S. having political generals at the start..
I came to know much of the military as it became in the 1980s and later through my interaction because of my pre-retirement job, for sure. Completely different culture from my enlisted days 1968-76. We just weren’t that political then I guess.