Is this part of some egalitarian ideal of making everyone equally p*ssed off?
I'm not so sure that people wouldn't opt for a ground job rather than the offer of an extra seven years with such an obviously caring outfit, with the added bonus of a chunk of time in Sunny Sale doing an incredibly tedious course. Some people will finish that sh*t sandwich with the dessert of some time flying a bug smasher in Tamworth.
How about that old-fashioned idea that the performers are sent to QFIs, the strugglers are sent to the less desirable postings, and we actually reward people for effort and/or ability? Maybe if there was reward for effort, more effort may be expended, and the system avoids annoying the very people it would like to keep.
Don't they teach empathy in the new age management courses that the senior officers do nowadays?