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The very top are very rarely even the very best of who stuck around. Look at Petraeus vs., say, Wesley Clark. Carter Ham vs. Jim Amos. Hell, Chaos 6 is the SECDEF, and was passed over for Commandant partially b/c Obama and Panetta hated him.
Some of those guys simply are old. They served as generals and for a decent amount of time. Clark, for example graduated West Point in 1966 and served 38 years. Is that "sticking around?"
Petraeus graduated 1974 and served until 2011 (37 years) before becoming director of the CIA.
Anything beyond one hitch is technically "sticking around," IMO. Guys who make it to 20 years certainly did stick around, no?