Originally Posted by
HeliAviator
Touched a raw nerve there? Good to see that your command of the English lanuage is poor to gusting little command. I presume that you are either a junior of senior rank, though to be honest if you are a senior, how on earht did you make it this far? It's the lack of disipline that you obviously embrace that only drives home the death nail of rot, errosion of standards and ethos of the RAF, at all levels. OK, I take your not particulary eliquent point of call, for implying that juniors are "thick" and I retract this as it was printed whilst feeling particularly frustrated with those juniors I unfortunately had to deal with during the day. However, it is particularly disappointing to deal with the more junior memers of our force who constantly day in and day out, display a complete lack of care, awareness, logical thought and respect for service and the Queen. The act of saluting (for instance) is not as a mark of respect to me but to acknowledge the Queens Commsion. I have worked through the ranks to attain my commision, and at no point did I feel that I was belittling myself to pay the required respect. In fact as a junior and senior rank I used to go out of my way ensure that any officer I came into contact with, had to return my excemplary salute. Yes, I am old school but, I embrace modern practice and I am proud the RAF, and of the other services too, though daily I find that the services and those serving in it, particularly the RAF are loosing the plot. 
I fully accept that the commission you hold and the Queen which it represents should be acknowledged by personnel and am actually shocked to find an officer who is complaining about 'them' not being saluted!!
As for 'junior personnel' having a lack of interest/awareness in their work, if you (as in the RAF as a whole) treat your workers like idiots then don't be surprised when they act like it or have no real passion for what they are doing.
The continual eroding of the 'perks' of RAF service has I believe meant that many see their service as 'just a job'.
The days of being 'knocked off early for sports' by line managers on quiet days (not that we have many quiet days anymore) have gone because line managers are terrified of making decisions concerning their personnel in case they have to justify it to someone, so the troops are invariably just left staring at the wall until the shift ends. A very minor matter but one of the many straws on the camel's back.
Then of course there is pay.
In the civil sector 'Logistics' is a huge growth industry, with even the experience of a humble stacker in SCAF commanding quite reasonable wages as a Logistics Controller or Warehouse Supervisor. Backed up by a few resettlement courses such as NEBOSH and basic starting wages are starting to hit the 42k mark, small change for an airline pilot but a lot more than the 18k an average SAC supplier is making. But of course part of the system for deciding pay in the RAF if that you are paid an equivalent wage to an equivalent civvy street profession. Which is why Cpl/Sgt stackers who maintain and administer unit supply IT systems as an additional duty to their main duties are still on the lower pay band. Is it any wonder 16 Sgt suppliers have recently turned down their promotion to FSgt as they're heading for the door?
Of course techies are right to say "but if stackers were on the higher pay band it makes a joke of the training we've done", but as long as service pay fails to reflect civilian pay by a long shot the slide towards the door by the experienced personnel will continue and you'll be left with the inexperienced and uninterested ones
Anyway, just a penny worth from me.