I live in a recreation state, and to provide some numbers there are well over three times as many registered boats in my home state than there are naval O-6 rank ship captains. Just in one state.

Admittedly "beaching" a nuclear air craft carrier is more important to the USA than a local bubba beaching his fish trawler on a sandbar; but to bubba as an individual, its more important not to beach his fishing boat as avoidance of beaching his fishing boat is actionable for bubba, whereas watching TV reports of a naval accident are not.