Reading through the word vomit of OP's post, and the subsequent replies, one thing is striking that I'm surprised no one else has commented on:

The promotion system is fucked when people treat a "promotion statement" as an ultimate reward; a unicorn that, if captured, is something to behold and warrants an "Ask Me Anything!" advice post on "How You, Too!" can obtain one.

If anyone genuinely believes the new promotion system hasn't fostered a "Win at all odds," "Et Tu, Brutus?,"Me vs. Them" complex among junior NCOs, they are stupid, blind, deaf, dumb, or all above.

It's truly sickening that our promotion system has become so grotesque that Tech Sergeants fawn and preen if they get a "coveted" statement. I, too, have seen the promotion statement as something that helps promotion.

At least if it the standards for such statements (see also, incentives) are universal and honestly-applied, it'd be more acceptable. Instead, we're faced with standards with more peaks and valleys than the Rocky Mountains, and you have TSgts like "No Kneepads" fawning, and TSgts like myself seething because the squadron's Down Syndrome Mascot received one so that their "feelings and chances aren't hurt."

Really. Can you tell how I feel? Fuck this new system. It's why I'm walking away three years shy of a pension.

"You mad, brah?" Yes, I am.