Simply because BP or Mercedes are not publicly funded does not make the comparison invalid. Like those companies, the military is a large and complex organisation that is required to deliver an output demanded by its customer, that customer being the taxpayer.
So if you, as the taxpayer, want senior people with appropriate experience and training making the important decisions, then you have to have a structure that allows sufficient numbers of such people to be employed.
..but why do I feel I'm wasting my time treating your question seriously...?