jnc :
No one who is or who has been a CO or DO will raise an eyebrow at the situation you post. Reading files (yes they are often unsealed) and hearing such situations on a regular basis just inures them to it.
I remember discussing just such an unbelievable situation in person with a senior member of the Service department. He just shook his head, made some disparaging remarks about how dumb the elders are out there. Would he do something about it? Of course not. I could not hold back from noting that these "idiotic" elders are products of the Society, plain and simple. Those at the top just don't get it.
Pay careful attention to the expressions used above about the good old boy network, "buddies," and the like. This is one of the most difficult areas to deal with if you are a sincere, spiritually inclined CO who genuinely loves the flock.
Maximus