Depends. I got in trouble at my last assignment and was made an example of. I wasn't going to get a dec at all as a SNCO. The Sq/CC who handed me a LOR and UIF, and let me keep my MSgt stripe, wrote a push note to the OG saying I had recovered from something two years prior, I was human and was bound to make mistakes, and I was one of the best SNCO's in his Sq and while I wouldn't get an MSM, I did deserve a PCS medal of some kind.
He is a leader, well known in the C-17 and KC-135 community. I get what you're saying, however in my experience most Sq/CC's wouldn't of done a push note like that because they just don't want to argue or get on the radar of their boss.
But that's the problem. The OG/CC doesn't really know me, my Sq/CC does. He/she are the ones who go to bat for me. If I'm a Group/CC and I have a Sq/CC going to bat for one of their troops over a dec, and they don't do this all the time, I'll approve it because I'm trusting my Sq/CC's judgement. The AF is now filled with risk adverse managers who are too worried about upsetting their bosses and/or possibly derailing their career over sticking up for their troops.