They would still have had to 'grind' their way through blowing up thousands of them... Same as earning it any other way, just collect enough numbers and it is yours... Same as any other elite rank, just a number.I reckon there are a lot of elite combat pilots out there from splatting scouts in a corvette who should really be embarrassed about that decal on the front of their ship.
(which took me nearly 3 years to get, but still is no indication of my actual combat skill)