Cat Funt (great!), I cannot disagree with you, but you describe many in MoD other than Middleton; both serving and civilian. Management sets the tone. As his management (ultimately the Air Staff) also acts like this, Middleton is encouraged in his manner.
While the problems on gliders have come to a head this decade, the underlying systemic failures were notified to these very senior staff in, at latest, January 1988. Gliders are simply the latest in a long line of failures, many of which resulted in avoidable deaths. What I'd like to know is why it has taken so long. Nimrod MRA4 was (belatedly) cancelled 8 years ago because it could never be made airworthy. Gliders suffered the same way. You need to join the dots. In 2011, when Flt Lt Cunningham was killed, MoD had to admit there was no valid Hawk safety case. Same with gliders. Same Type Airworthiness Authority. If you want to start somewhere with an individual, there's a clue. But work upwards, not downwards.