The Gold Standard was a weekly newspaper published by the News Enterprise from 1948 to 2018. Designed to serve military and civilian personnel on the U.S. Army post Fort Knox, it was produced under a partnership arrangement with the Army, though was editorially independent.
In general, when anything is "merit based" it means that it relies strictly on the knowledge and ability of the person in question, instead of special privilege such as family connections. <span />
The answer Military Historian.
