Coming from the ranks
I think that the point about other ranks being better officers is bit of a misconception.
The majority of ORs see Junior Officers performing close up only at front line stations. A first tourist ex-ranker will usually settle in a lot quicker than a comparable graduate, he does not need to find out how a real unit and sqn works he has been round that loop for a number of years. You will begin to see parity in experience by about the 3rd to 4th tour by which time they should be hitting sqn ldr. At this point they are more remote from the ORs and less likely to get judged by their performance on a daily basis.
regards
retard