Wasn't aware of that -- but it tracks with the HRC / MilPerCen / DCSPER operating mode. I've watched several great folks get sidelined in similar ways. FAOs are one of my pets. We spend millions training those guys then ignore them...
Thus from this recent battle; I have no confidence that the system can reform itself unless Congress has the will to do so. And they have shown no inclination. I suspect that they "like" the system the way it is. It would be dangerous to have a system which regularly turned out Boyd's and other mavericks. As my colleague put it earlier --- the system has a strong preference for made men.
Made? Or compliant? It will take Congress, no question -- they, after all, are the ones that insisted on much of the current bureaucratic mishmash -- but as I said above, barring a major exodus in disgust (a possibility, I fear) or some other earth shaker, change from that quarter is unlikely. Thus, my belief that cultivating 'em when they walk in the door and getting them to change the culture as they grow is an alternative. The Gen Xers, now hitting their mid thirties, are getting feisty if not violent about Baby Boomers and their lack of drive and general worth. This Millennium generation in their late teens is showing scant tolerance for BS, incompetence and subterfuge. The two as they rise in rank might be fun to watch...