FWIW, I mostly agree with Braddock, I would find having a way to identify when a person has achieved certain threshold levels of skill being a nice color to the environment, and the only place I (speaking for myself only) would be likely to notice or remember someone’s achievement is if it gets reflected in the uniform. Regarding the last question about applicability to primary/secondary, though, I don’t see why people shouldn’t be recognized for achieving levels of excellence in multiple stations if they have otherwise earned it.
The trick, it seems to me, is figuring out an effective metric for a level increase. Would it be determined by the simple number of sims/missions served in that post? By a certain number of COs’ positive debriefings (i.e., “I can’t think of anything you did wrong, so good job!”)? By demonstrating proficiency in specific actions (e.g., calling an Echo drop accurately)? By special acts of cool-headed service under fire? By votes? By surviving ___ minutes in a level-11 caltron invasion sim? By some combination of these?