The following is the July white paper, Unrestricted Line Officer Promotions: Best and Fully Qualified? by Capt. Robert Tortora, USN.
From the document: After more than thirty years of competing as a group, it has become increasingly evident that the combined group of communities in the [Unrestricted Line] competitive category can no longer compete on an equitable basis to meet the needs of the Navy. Differences in authorizations and retention differ significantly across the URL communities whereas promotion timing and opportunity are the same within this competitive category. Changes in force structure, relative size imbalances of the URL communities, and differing community milestones, career paths and timing have overshadowed reasonable consideration as a group and surpassed the ability of the promotion system to deliver officers from these communities in appropriate ratios to meet their separate requirements and the mission requirements of the Navy. It is past time for a periodic review of the URL competitive promotion category.
