It depends. If you are going the traditional "perfect" career route to be an operational flying squadron CC, flying ops group CC, flying wing CC, etc., then you will still need to have credibility in an MWS, i.e. have been an IP (plus all of the standard squares filled).

But lets face it, lots of dudes right now don't have that kind of career to look forward to. For fighters, F-15Cs going away to almost none, F-16 squadrons closing down left and right, F-22s stopped at 187, JSF check is in the mail. Not a lot of opportunities for squadron, group, and wing command for dudes in those worlds, regardless of tactical resume. I can't speak to all of the heavy airframes, but I know there certainly is plenty of instability there as well.

But the real answer is that the current fashionable trend to the dudes in DC (DoD and HAF) is the UAV. Right now dudes who get CC jobs in the UAV world are about as promotable as anyone could possibly be, even if they wouldn't have been the traditional fast burners/commanders within their former community. There is a big push to put those kind of dudes in leadership positions across the joint world.