Originally Posted by
Lima Juliet
pr00ne
Have a read of Air Cdre Dr Fin Monahan’s doctorate thesis on RAF Culture:
https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint...nahan18PhD.pdf
Fascinating stuff, I agree to some extent with what you are saying, but some things need to endure too - ie. the blue in our uniform, the rank structure, the roundel, the flying badges, the squadrons, the flights, the station ethos, the Messes, etc... etc... Granted they can take a modern twist, but the basis of them endure. It is the very “Air Force Spirit” that Trenchard saw as so very important; it is that feeling of collectively belonging to something that is so very important. Read Fin’s fascinating research to see what he found.
Air Cdre Fin is also leading some cultural research with 2 Wg Cdrs and an academic Dr (2 males, 2 females) to report on what Astra should do for the “Air Force Spirit” or its culture by mid 2021. I would hope that there is something in his previous research that will shine through - yes, the RAF adapts but it does so by bringing with it artefacts, practices and processes that it subtly changes. That is a good thing.
How did he find the energy to serve in the military AND do a PhD?
Having worked with several PhD grads, I know it's a lot of work and it's commendable even for a 26/27-year-old who was only doing that, full-time... never mind a serving Air Commodore with a mountain of responsibility.
I think that's a testament to the kind of person I think he is. What a legend!