Although silly idea creep is definitely prevalent again today, pre-CCS was even worse. I always got the impression that someone high up in greenworld had been granted a day a year by the Air Force Board to dick the blue RAF around and then devolved responsibility locally as to what that dicking involved. I've done everything from assaulting machine gun nests (endex was when a pair of blokes chucked a stone into the 'nest' to simulate a grenade...not that any of us had ever even seen one), through to COLPRO. Until CCS, it was certainly different every year.
I did hear that IDT is now dead, to be replaced by the OFT. The reason given was the gap in our military skillsets has apparently now been bridged. In true left hand-right hand fashion, the new OFT promises to include an annual tent building lesson and, what I consider a brilliant own goal for a Service claiming to be 'stretched', a shovelling sand from one box to another test. Can't wait for the papers to get hold of that one!
"RAF shovels sand from one box to another as aircraft sit stranded"
or
"Victorian penal system tasks keep RAF pilots busy"
As posted earlier, I think most people would understand us being taught defensive measures, but section attacks by cooks and bottle washers is a joke. We need to remember our bit of 'warfighter first' is to provide the air bit.