Very well said BEagle,
Throughout my 30 years I saw many cases of 'The System' pandering to discontented senior officers who threatened to PVR or complained about an unwanted posting. My service ended with my being posted (for what would in effect have been my final posting) from the fleet on which I had spent my entire career. The explanation was that I needed to be moved on to allow others to gain experience in my role. 2 years on and all those who were to gain that experience have left the Service!
By the way, the best rank for the 21st century has to be PA Flt Lt......better paid than Spec Aircrew Sqn Ldr, better pension and no requirement to undertake Service Enquiries or the burgeoning number of OOA SO2 posts needed to fill the staffs of VSOs trying to get 'operational command experience' on their CVs.