This doesn't surprise me.
He took the "poisoned chalice" of becoming a CP from "the Screaming Skull" in the immediate aftermath of 2001. Rebuilding morale from absolute "ground zero" really took some leadership. Along the way he stuck his neck out and rescued the careers of a few individuals. He could have just continued to keep his head down
It comes down to the age old dilemma of how to work in a regime you disagree with. If you strictly hold to your moral high ground, you may get burned out quickly and cast aside early. However, if you pick your battles, then maybe you can last a bit longer and make a more significant difference? Or maybe you will become the "king of shallow smiles" and end up becoming a DF0 or Director of C@$A somewhere.
Personally, I don't want to ever be sitting in an office thinking through how in 5 minutes time, I am going to tell a fellow Pilot they are "fu#cked".
Is there not some irony in the current HKG court coverage over the 49ers?.