Talk about a privilege . . . this semester Im taking a course called "Seminar in National Security". The class is taught by Admiral William Crowe and basically covers the US's national interests from the end of WWII through the end of the Cold War. What so special about this course one might ask . . . well it just so happens that Adm Crowe was a four star admiral who just happened to have been:
1976 -- Commander Middle East Force
1980 -- Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe
1983 -- Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Command
After being CinC of the Pacific Fleet he went on to become the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Ronald Reagan. If you dont know what the Chairman of the JCS is . . . well its basically the highest ranking military officer in the nation. Not bad huh? He continued to serve as Chairman into the Bush White House. Later he took up the post as Ambassador to the United Kingdom for three years of the Clinton administration. In all he served in uniform for 51 years.
All I can say is WOW

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Crowe