Well said Lou Scannon!
I too benefited from my time as a Cadet and now having had a career flying both fast jets and commercial, am trying to give back a little to the Corps. I am proud to wear the VRT pins and proud to serve with a broad range of committed and talented uniformed and civilian staff. They all bring enormous experience from their family lives and civilian occupations and give of their time and talents generously. They provide a service and experience to our young people that simply isn't available elsewhere.
Tamper with the military links at your peril. The entire structure, tradition and ethos of the Corps depend totally on the close relationship with the RAF. Commissioning of our VRT Officers and their acceptance as "fellow officers" is an essential ingredient of that close bond. When I am surrounded by teachers, senior managers, businessmen, senior police officers, skilled workers, committed parents, university lecturers, airline pilots, engineers, medical professionals etc etc, it doesn't seem to matter that they haven't served in the RAF, they collectively bring more skills than I can to a military youth organisation. I fear that any dilution would weaken the relationship and lessen the air minded military ethos that we value so much.
Are there any bad eggs? You bet, but they are few and far between and are rarely commissioned.