My thinking is this. We could have a tactical skill evaluation of every officer and see how many are worthy of their rank or promotion.
As I left the Army, they were moving more and more in this direction. What they were doing, is having the key commanders and NCOs play out complex operations on computers- the players would still have to interface with each other via radio and learn how to integrate and coordinate with the other commanders. As far as a useful exercise, it seemed to be. It got the Lieutenants and Captains and E7s thinking about how to communicate and coordinate with each other and what kind of problems they could expect from that aspect of things.
But as far as being useful for the man on the ground- I couldn't see it. There are some things that a computer just can't simulate- weather is a big factor in any military operation. Look at the Hostage Rescue Mission in Iran- weather blew the whole thing. Extremes in cold, precipitation, wind or heat can have a debilitating effect on a fighting force. How does the computer account for the difference in morale that comes from having to stomp around in ankle deep mud as opposed to knee deep snow? How to account for Joe not being as alert on guard because you're into the negative temperature range? I just can't see it.
Computer simulations are a great suppliment for the brass to work on their strategies, tactics and coordination skills, but nothing will ever replace hands on leadership skills and testing them in harsh conditions- IMHO. That computer doesn't check to make sure Joe cleaned his weapon. That computer doesn't have to deal with Joe being unhappy because he didn't get mail or his buddy just got killed or because his ole lady has sent him a Dear John letter. Those things take boots on the ground from the Private right on up to the Constellation types.
Too often Generals walk around it a perfect cocoon of perfection. You find out a General is coming to see your unit, it's a$$holes and elbows getting everything squared away. It's a big dog and pony show. All the poor soldiers are taken far away. Only the strack ones are let near the General. When he comes, he sees everything perfect- but he doesn't see reality.
Some of the best Generals I ever saw were the ones that walked up to you and waved away your position of attention and salute "F__K all that shit, son! How's things going here? What kind of problems you boys having? You getting this mission accomplished?" They get a lot of bullcrap 'suck-up' answers but they also get a few little gems that let them know what the real sit-rep is. Those Generals are the ones that make the Colonels and lower ranking officers the most nervous. I had a Three Star put his arm around me and a buddy once and ask us questions similar to that. He had a Two Star, a One Star, a Full Bird and right on down the food chain to my Platoon Leader gaggled up behind him- looking on in consternation- hoping we wouldn't f__k up their whole careers by saying the wrong thing. The looks on their faces was priceless- but so was the Seargent Major's look. Capable of telepathy, the SGM sent us the message with his eyebrows that he would love nothing better than for us to say the "wrong thing". The officers might fall, but he, the Seargent Major, would spend many long and happy hours making us pay for our remarks. So, we gave the suck- up answer "We're getting it done sir!"
My anecdote aside- I don't think you'd want to go down the road towards having a computer evaluate your officers- might as well have the computer give the orders if we do that. And somebody still has to write the program. When you get near the top of the chain, their are a lot of powerful forces at work. Defense contractors that all want to sell us their version of war, political infighting among top officers, senators with too much corporate money in their pockets all exerting force on the objectivity of the "evaluation process". I don't honestly have an answer for what to do about it. That's the nature of the beast and in the end your weapon systems still get built by the lowest bidder. Murphy's Law always extracts his fee from Joe in the end- mistakes from the top result in blood at the bottom. That's the way it's always been and until we go fully automated on the battlefield, that's the way it'll always be.