Promotion boards, specialist skills, and retaining personnel

Should the British armed forces emphasize time served, merit, and behaviour over specified achievements when deciding promotions?

A commander should be able to present an individual's case to a promotion board, which can weigh leadership, skills, merit, and the need to retain that person.

The proposed approach lets commanders explain to a board why an individual should be promoted, with each case assessed on its merits. Leadership ability is one consideration, while retaining useful technical skills, such as drone piloting, is another. Promotion can also provide a pay increase in an organization where raising someone's pay without changing their position is difficult. Specialist pay awards offer another route, though securing them can be complicated. This is Alex's preferred approach, informed by observing the continuing debate between fixed targets and individual assessment from outside the armed forces.