From the article:
These policies undermine the military competence of the Pentagon's own officer corps. They're creating a system that self-selects a large cadre of mediocre conformists.
http://warisboring.com/articles/the-pentagons-pricey-culture-of-mediocrity/
They are talking about "up or out". I always thought that was a real problem and it affected me way back when. One of the reasons I got out early.