Coming from an RAF of many years ago (dare I say around BEag's time) it seems to me that the root cause of all the problems in the current mob is the lack of a creditable national 'enemy'.
I know you 'youngsters' scoff at the witterings of us older types but there was a certain, what. . . clarity of purpose in those times.
Seems to me that it all started to go downhill with the first mutterings of that evil phrase 'Peace Dividend'.