And to my mind, this list of woe has it's roots in one place and one place only - the concept of treating the Armed Forces like it is a business.
How very true - the crux of an excellent post!
It works the other way as well. The business sector has embraced what it sees as a quasi-military leadership ethos, grounded in "targets" and a dynamic results-now leadership science that is viewed as the most important discovery since the spherical nature of the Earth was established.
It's all cobblers! Military leadership calls for a significant investment in terms of trust, time and resources that is completely contrary to the short-term climate embraced by the business sectorand now by the military. Witness the collapse of organisations such as the Post Office. The military is heading the same way. Ironically, the skewed image of a military ethos that never really existed has now come full circle!
Melchett - I think I visited the "Blue Toun" in your time frame. Do you have any recollections of that fine place - like the infamous alcohol-fuelled Children in Need night?