Jimlad,
I broadly agree with your thinking, but remember we do already have multiple entry points but only at the start of your career - airman, SNCO and officer. I'm not saying we shouldn't be able to come in at various other points on the scale, I presume in a similar fashion the the CS with competency based recruiting. But you would have the thorny problem of bringing in people from the outside who hadn't slogged their way through the Commissioning course and therefore in the eyes of many, wouldn't have much in the way of credibility; remember the Commission confers certain rights and responsibilities, including in extremis the power of life and death when you are ordering people to launch on ops. That is very different from being an exec in commerce or industry.
The Police's Superintendent entry programme would probably be worth watching to see how that plays out as the nearest thing to what you are suggesting. But the notion of a meritocratic and fully open career management system would be nice, rather than individuals being 'mentored' - read into that deliberate wording what you will.
But as a former CAS said when addressing our ICSC, sqn ldr is the rank you have to survive. You have one foot in the Execs' corridor and one in the crew room and you somehow have to deal with that schizophrenic existence, proving to your seniors you have potential whilst proving to your colleagues and subordinates that you haven't become a complete muppet. If you can get through that rank, allegedly you stand a fighting chance.
Last edited by Melchett01; 25th Apr 2015 at 12:38.
Reason: Sentence structure