Originally Posted by
Thoughtful_Flyer
In some ways covering up bad behaviour is as bad, if not worse, than the alleged behaviour itself. Could a senior officer doing so be charged with misconduct in a public office? That would certainly be possible with a similar scenario in the police.
Meanwhile the London Fire Brigade is getting a similar press
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-63749444
I hope nobody is going to justify that in the same way!
I rather think that the RAF Star Chamber might, TF, especially if 'bad behaviour' involves its own membership. The default action has always been to scapegoat juniors, be they JOs, SOs, or even 1*s. Certainly that was the DS solution to VSO induced unairworthiness infecting the UK military airfleets that led directly to so many avoidable airworthiness related fatal air accidents, the most notorious being of course Mull but including many others featured in this very forum. I would agree with you that if anything the ensuing cover up is worse than the initial illegal/improper actions that it protects. It means that the urgent need for reform is also covered up and thus remains stillborn.
The solution for airworthiness is to make Air Regulation and Accident Investigation independent of the operator (aka the MOD) and of each other. The solution for the Reds, and any other such anomalous units, is to disband them and post the occupants back into the 'normal' RAF, be it to FTSs or front-line squadrons. All my personal opinion of course, others may well disagree....