This is correct.
There is very little public information about this new board, but expect it to run like a promotion board or DT rack-and-stack. If so, they score each record on 6-10 pt scale at .5 increments to determine rack-and-stack for IDE/SDE. The margins are slim. Last year, all 11Fs IDE slots were selected by 11Fs. This year, there may be no 11Fs on the board that scores your records. If run like a promotion board, expect equal parts ops and support O-6s.
IDE Selects have been ID'd as the top 16% (in '14) to 19% (in '11) of their YrGrp. Whether it was the DFC/BS in combat, working as Group Exec, or coordinating the Xmas Party, the designation came out of a deliberate and pretty transparent promotion board process (even though most of us disagree with the weight given to certain non-operational activities). Many people will defer to the promotion board's evaluation.
The IDE board is a repeat of the promotion board with 1-3 years for Selects to fall off or Candidates to move up; recent experience is on top and probably the most relevant (ADO/deployed DETCO experience, etc). Sr Raters must nom all Selects, but they can rank Candidates above Selects (though unlikely). I would expect the Sr Rater input to have a much stronger impact on the board than Select/non-Select.
Not all Selects will want to spend 18mos getting a Masters or learning Japanese to do ACSC in Tokyo, and DTs may want you closer to home for SAASS, Wing Safety, or DO.
I expect a smaller % of O-3s picked up for IDE than most years, but a higher % of Selects going to non-ACSC programs