General Mattis has already answered this question for us. The quote that I’m referencing has been posted on the forum a few times; here it is if you haven’t seen it.
Do you think he'd charge young officers with protecting the true mavericks in the group if they didn't need to be guarded?
Here’s a 4 star general, the former commander of CENTCOM no less, imploring his Marines to take risks to protect the very people who he knows will buck the system. It's pretty obvious that if the military wanted a wide breadth of insight and input from its people, you wouldn't have a man of General Mattis' caliber issuing such a grave warning.
Articles with the quote:
Slate: Mattis 1
Slate: Mattis 2