Yes, as Anthony Herbert put it, "There's nothing like a chest full of of ribbons and the old war record when the promotion board meets. "In Vietnam so many generals received the Distinguished Service Medal that it became known as the "generals good conduct medal ", it was a source of considerable embarrassment when Samuel Koster had to be stripped of his for his role in the MyLai coverup. There was a veritable flood of complaints
about senior officers receiving awards they really hadn't earned. Like the pictures I have seen of Soviet generals in their full dress uniforms after WWII. Some of whom-like Budyonny-were not very good commanders. Or Dmitri Ustinov, Soviet Minister of Defense 1976-1984. Wore rows of fruit salad, but never commanded troops in action or was a staff officer. He was Stalin's Commissar of Defense Production, a critical position, think of Henry Kayser in WWII. But not a real soldier.