Jim Webb actually said...

"does the presence of a four-star commander unnecessarily lead to inflated grades of the principal staff officers and is further study of this required?"

"each Service has a Chief and Vice Chief, but beyond that there appears to be little consistency across the Services"

"So it would be your view that the Secretary of Defense has the authority under the legislative umbrella to declare that to be a four star?"

"I think that this is an area that we are just beginning to get a look at, and there is a Guard and Reserve component in here that has not been examined."