I admit I am one of those people (kind of... got what I wanted, but in sup-optimal circumstances). However, when I was a MIDN and and ENS, I thought the same thing about hearing LT's say "timing is what matters the most." I used to think the people saying that were either lazy or otherwise messed up or were incompetent. I felt that way until the rug was pulled out from under me and I saw how badly timing can get messed up. It is amazing that a difference of maybe 4-6 months of timing in either direction for me would have at least given me the opportunity to have a career; instead bad timing has led to probably the end of my career.
The ironic part of it all is for my final mid-tour counseling, my Skipper said something to the effect of: "you can never control your timing and you can never control your boss. You did everything on your end of the bargain right, your timing is working out, and your boss likes you. Just remember things may not always work out this way. Always just do your best." Then... circumstances changed drastically in the following couple months and the conversation, I remember started: "remember I said you can never change your timing or your boss? Unfortunately, now, the timing is going to screw you." And it definitely has. Doors have been shut on me. My career is likely over. I will admit, it is an unbelievably difficult pill to swallow when I look back and think, overall, I had a pretty successful first tour. I certainly was not perfect; and I know I made mistakes. I do not think I was deserving of a #1, but I definitely think a #2 EP was warranted, and I think I was being lined up for it, but timing wouldn't have it that way. At the end of the day, my final (non-competitive) FITREP, my Skipper mentioned that if the competitive FITREP had been when my final one was, things would probably have shaken out different... but it wasn't. Timing man. It's a bitch.
What's my point? I think, overall, timing shouldn't have as much of an impact. I understand what Brett was saying about DH's and who is most ready to command, but I'm not certain the same could be said of larger sample sizes, especially when people are in a role they have held in a past squadron/ship (i.e.: LPO). You know who the stand out First Classes are. You know which ones will make good Chiefs. But, they haven't paid their dues until at least 1 full cycle so they have to wait another year; that sucks, especially if they had been an established (albeit new/junior) First Class in his/her previous command. Typically, you make them wait even more because you don't want to "lock them into an EP" for the remainder of their tour in case they don't pick up Chief and we (potentially) delay that person's advancement all the longer. The worst is when someone did break out in year 2 or 3 of a 5 year tour, you do give them an EP, and their remainder of their time they barely do anything, but we still hand out the EP because dropping them down would be disastrous. How about instead, we make our Sailors face the consequences of not earning their rank every single day? You want that EP? Prove to me you're ready to be a Chief. Every. Single. Day. When you have a year that your peers surpassed you because you got lazy and comfortable, "sorry man, you're a #4 MP, better luck next year!" But, we don't have the balls to call a spade a spade when it will hurt someone's feelings, and bureaucratic Navy refuses to acknowledge that someone could have possibly had a down year, picked themselves back up, realized their issue and fix themselves in their following 2 years - instead - they blacklist that Sailor which only reinforces the idea that commands cannot have Sailors that have any regression. This makes them give out the EPs to less-than-deserving-Sailors after they have earned one already and proven to the command they are the most capable, qualified, and likely to succeed in their next promotion compared to their peers.
Now, I look at some of the people who went before me who got EP's, lower ones, like 3's or 4's. They were given them as a bone, a lifeline, like "you weren't good enough, but this can help you lat transfer in the future." I certainly thought I was deserving of them at the time, but understood the system and knew I'd wait my turn and probably end up with a higher one than they received. Alas, my turn never came around because of... timing. And those people, who were poor performers, have much more viable career paths than I do now, albeit, not in aviation. Timing is a bitch, and yes, it's definitely negatively affected me, I admit that, I am biased now, but I guess I was disappointed at timing back then too, when I thought "man, he/she is not deserving of an EP at all, he/she really lucked into that. Oh well, my turn will come. I'm doing well; this will pan out for me anyway, no need to be jealous of others' success. It's just a matter of time before I get mine."
But most people are closer to the middle. They might tend to like alone time, or they might tend to like to be "chatty Cathy." But too much of either makes them look for the other one. To say you're only an introvert or only an extravert, or judger vs. perceiver, and so on is almost always wrong. It's a continuum.
