Well...on this one Christcorp and I will agree to disagree, a TINY bit.
First...regarding general officers...I had to look this one up because from my experience, I have found more NON "grads" as G.O.'s than grads. SO I did a little digging...this is regarding 4-stars in AF History:
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There have been 189 four-star generals in the history of the U.S. Air Force. Generals entered the Air Force via several paths: 60 were commissioned via the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), 49 via the aviation cadet program, 30 via Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) at a civilian university, 26 via the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), 9 via AFROTC at a senior military college, 6 via Air Force Officer Training School (OTS), 4 via the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), 2 via direct commission, one via Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at a civilian university, one via the Army National Guard (ARNG), and one via the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
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"Yes Steve, but the academy has only been commissioning since 1959, what about since then...?"
Answer: Okay...USAFA grad's have led the pack to 4 stars...but it's close, very close...
With commissions from 1959 to present there have been 57 4-star's promoted. Of them, if I break them down correctly:
USAFA - 26
AFROTC - 21
OTS - 5
Texas A&M - 5
VMI - 1
So....32 4-star generals from OTHER than USAFA, and 26 from. I'm very curious what the breakdown would be for "lesser grades" of general: 1 - 3 stars. I'm "guessing" it might be more skewed to the NON USAFA grad...just from my experiences, but that's a total WAG.
FYI, in my AF career so far, that's about par for what I've seen; most of the generals I've worked with/for were NOT from USAFA.
I think...again, MY OPINION, once you graduate...you're a "butter bar" and you begin to make your own career. Your commission source won't matter (IMHO) until you are a Colonel. THEN...it "might" or "might not" depending upon the job you're after, the person hiring for that job, etc...etc...
But...and let's be honest..."grads" do tend to like to "congregate" with other "grads" and that can have an impact when assignments are parceled out...especially for a senior officer and I would think that THEN is when that "grad" title might be of benefit.
Just MHO...