Tuc, of course you are right with the practical explanation and perhaps the very fact that aircraft have been grounded/withdrawn/destroyed is indicative of senior officers actually waking-up to the issues and doing the 'right thing' (insofar as they recognise the problem and from a personal level are unwilling to continue the charade). However, that leaves two major issues - One, how do you get out of the mess without available cash? Two, how do you retain a vital volunteer 'force' if you are ever going to stop the rot or have devised a cunning plan to answer question one?
I spent a mere quarter of a century in the RAF and can say, hand on heart, that the current AOC 22 Gp (Bunny) and previous (Andy T) are good men and they are strong managers; the same cannot be said of Comdt 2 FTS. Of course, AOCs don't have much influence here, it's far more convoluted.
