Ha! That is what I told my O6 senior rater (I was an O5 then and retired as one last year) in Iraq in 2005. I told him; "Sir, I've been in the Army for 20 years in spite of OPMS, not because of it. And the reason that I've been in the Army as long as I have is because there is only ONE ARMY. Because if there was a second Army in this country I would have taken my labor to it a long time ago if for no other reason then to show my disapproval with this Army's officer personnel management practices"
So we bumble forward because there are only two meaningful choices for someone thinking about the profession of arms in this country:
1. Choice #1: Army, Navy, Airforce, or Marines
2. Choice #2: Once inside one of them, do I stay or do I go?
Because as you pointed out the system fosters systemic risk aversion and mediocrity, it survives because of the valor and sense of duty (and no other place to exercise those qaulities within a profession of arms framework --- in a word the government both enjoys and suffers from its monopoly status as a sole source employer for those seeking the profession of arms) of the jr. and field grade officers which have to make things work on the ground.
A helluva a way to run an organization within a country which has become what it is through the workings of good laws, free enterprise, and free labor markets.
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