Another thought on retention: The ADHSB has made life even at the FNG level hyper competitive. Guys who were my DHs didn't know they were going to have a DHSB as JOs, so they enjoyed life a bit more. Now, as soon as you get to the squadron you know you need to do everything to get that EP and FRS/SWTI slot so you can at the very least set yourself up to screen. This makes work more cutthroat so more people hang around all day doing nothing hoping that looking busy will be mistaken for being productive which makes them miserable.
I'm not doubting that you had this experience, but to me, it seems to be what you make of it. DHSB or not, as a JO, I was concerned about doing my job well and flying. Getting more advanced quals, while loathsome at times, meant more flying. Ironically, even FCP meant more flying as the flight hour hits started to come. DHSB, EPs, the FRS...those weren't what I cared about.
While my particular experience was in large part due to timing (huge chunks of the squadron were gone while I was home), jumping on whatever jobs (and there were usually several to go around if you weren't a brand new guy) and actually caring about them made one successful. I really didn't care about EPs, and in fact I figured I'd be a mid pack guy due to some politics from my DH boss at one point (he and I weren't the best of friends, to say the least). I was lucky (again) and some folks took care of me, but they were willing to go to bat for me because I did my job (as did the several other JOs who were in the same boat, timing-wise).
To boil it down, what I found to be my personal keys to success (without giving a damn about EPs and the FRS) were:
-Timing.
-Doing my job (hopefully well)
-Taking care of my people (who would then take care of me).
-Being honest with the front office (but still being respectful, which can be a fine line).
-Timing.
Not surprisingly, I found these to be the key to my success as a DH, as well.