Originally Posted by
KPax
Sir Stu Peach surely dispelled the myth that you have to be a Pilot to get to the top of the tree.
I’d disagree there in one sense - what made him employable as CDS and not as CAS? I still think, for all it’s fine words, that the RAF lives in a world where the right man for the job is a pilot and the rest make up the numbers. Outside of light blue structures it may well be the case that the best man regardless works to a greater degree, but I think we still have lessons to learn.
For what it’s worth, what do I think makes the ‘right man’ at the highest level. Well, it’s not thousands of combat hours. A level of operational experience is vital, but he nature of operations are changing - Cyber, big data, RPAS - effect in the Air domain is achieved by more ways than sitting in a ‘traditional’ cockpit. Plus a pure ops background will mean you are light in certain critical areas, notably Cap and Finance. A 2-Star a while back suggested to me at a DIN that both those were critical by 1-Star to be credible for the final push. To that I would add intellectual / academics and the ability to think conceptually if you’re going to conquer policy. And that then leads to the question of ACSC or alternative routes - as I believe the Army are now experimenting with. Plus when you then reach the highest levels the ability to operate comfortably in political circles is crucial.