The Nip, you confirm the process of decay that I proposed in post #7. The only real commanders in the Royal Air Force (commanders of personnel) are behind the station gates, ie Station and Unit Commanders in the main. Outside those gates it is a bureaucratic pyramid, and was designed deliberately that way to appease the bean counters in the bleak years between the world wars.
It is those Station and Unit Commanders who have had their discretionary powers of subordinate commanders whittled away over the years, so that everything and anything has to be referred up the line. The result is the barren desert of poor accommodation, poor catering, and poor infrastructure outlined by LJ.
That we have come to the point where the consideration of Service Charities needing to be roped in to address the paucity of care for Service Personnel is a direct reflection of the effects of reducing the powers of subordinate commanders and the wholesale move to contractorization. Both such policies need to go into full reverse ASAP, as well as ameliorating the situation now with any available voluntary charity input.
Without two way traditional loyalty, both up and down, the whole ethos of Service life is on life support. We need to do much better than that!
Last edited by Chugalug2; 29th Aug 2019 at 14:27.
Reason: Wrong attribution