Coctyte, I have a relatively simple way of dealing with that. I use the titles system to designate what each officer is assigned to (and I don't use the automated assignment system). So, if I have someone commanding the CV Venerable, I put that as their title. If the ships are of a type that doesn't have a name (like a fighter), I will just put the type for the title, e.g. FTR. For staff officers, this might be COps SOLCOM - Chief of operations, Sol Command, or CiC SOLCOM - Commander in Chief, Sol Command.
This becomes less practical as you get more and more academies, since you get a larger influx of officers. But still, it's fairly useful for a very long time.
It also helps me keep track of what positions need to be filled. If an officer dies, I can see by their title what they were assigned to. Not every message reporting an officer leaving a position (dead, retired, etc) actually says what position they had.
Anyway, the end result is that since I have these titles, I can see who's in what ship without a lot of flipping back and forth. As such, I can award a medal to every member of a fleet because I can see all of that data.
Your suggestion, however, is sound. I am just giving you a potential temporary work around.
