A private is 18-19 years old, and trained to maneuver and employ a weapon. He probably has absolutely no insight whatsoever to offer a general.

The general has decades of experience at every level of the military, and insight and experience into all the OTHER things which are required for military operations and the broader security objectives of his nation. He is also educated, with typically advanced degrees, at least one of which will involve geo-politics, strategy, history, etc. Oh, yeah and he fought in the trenches with a bunch of privates when he was a LT. So he already knows. He just needs to make sure he's in tune with the current realities of the front-line troops, because things can change over time, and in different circumstances. But he probably doesn't need advice from a teenager.

"Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics"