Well done Tourist. Time is of the essence.
Then there is the slight subject of leadership versus management, they're not the same thing - especially leadership under fire. A bit of distance allows a certain aura of respect that is needed when leading men into action. The naval situation of the captain is probably the best example; a naval ship's captain is completely alone, even in a ship crammed with crew and fellow officers: if you examine the example of leaders like Lt Cdr Roope VC for instance, its easy to see why that's for the best.
I can think of many senior managers that I was perfectly happy to work under, but if any of them had asked me to do anything even slightly dangerous, I'd have quickly told them where to stick it. (This is also perhaps why retired officers never seem to make good managers.)
The problem with having junior officers serve in the ranks is that they may develop sympathy with their subordinates; not so much of a problem when managing but the military aren't training managers, they're training future leaders. For leaders, isolation works best.