LOL. We're old friends USMC (at least I hope we still are). Perhaps my brush was too broad, and with harsh bristles. Yes, I have met several successful pilots who hold the degree- there's no doubt about that. However nobody has ever told me they'd do it again. They all advise to do a more broadly applicable degree.

You wouldn't advise that course of study under these conditions for obvious reasons, but with the benefit of hindsight, under what circumstances would you encourage somebody to do it? I'm not trying to argue the value, just trying to find out what conditions would benefit most from the degree.