Within the military, advancement is as often a factor of ability as it is riding the coattails of someone more powerful than you, i.e., a Sith. Thus, one is not purely measured on their ability, their skill, their education, but on a factor of their birth. The only true way to wield power in the Empire is to be a Sith to be force sensitive. The Sith Empire tries to pass itself off as a meritocracy.
