If this scandal started and stopped with ACM Wigston it would be of some comfort. Sadly it didn't. It is what happens to any military after prolonged periods of peace, by which I mean without major or World Wars. Instead of leaders being brought to the high command out of necessity, career seekers bring themselves, often with some agenda or other but always with a single minded determination to make it at the cost of everyone else. Shortcuts, bullying, and downright lies achieve what the lack of leadership cannot. The cost is invariably paid by subordinates, usually at one star or below. Hence these unfortunate male candidates who never made it to IOC, but even more tragically those who died in avoidable air accidents because the mandated airworthiness regulations were subverted and suborned on the orders of other VSOs from the Star Chamber.
The cost in blood and treasure is scandal enough, but it pales in the future cost of trying (and failing?) to gain Air Superiority from a rival hostile air power with a lack of airworthiness riddling our Air Fleets. Someone suggested a future engineer CAS, which would be a great start. Whatever race, creed, or sexual classification of future air crew, it will be of secondary importance to the lack of airworthiness suffered by our aircraft.
The leadership of the Royal Air Force has utterly failed the Service and the Nation. Reform is urgent. It should start with the removal of Air Regulation and Accident Investigation from the maw of the MOD/RAF (and each other). Only then can the long journey to reform commence.