In that case the only option that matters is the squadron commander who is willing to put their career on the line to sign that person off.

People either meet the minimum requirements and the standard during the upgrade course or they don’t. Not sure why people get their underwear all bunched up about arbitrary hours numbers for people to sit in x seat in y aircraft. What’s more important is having a training department with the fortitude to not pass trash when someone doesn’t meet the standard. Whether it’s retraining, or attrition, the solution shouldn’t be passing someone along to the line out of fear of rocking the boat.