Easy,
The AWACS Operation is just one part of the USAF....and yes in the AWC Wing the guys in the back end are in charge and the folks up front are just the Chauffeurs.
Look at the Order of Battle for the USAF....and research the Commanders of the rest of the Air Force and you shall see that indeed the Fighter Jocks figure mightily in the Senior Ranks.
Remember the efforts made to do away with the A-10? That was a direct result of that FJ Mafia looking out for its own interests.
In its heyday....it was the SAC big Bomber drivers that tended to rule the roost.
Times change but factionalism in the USAF is just as prevalent as it is in the RAF.