Medals - well deserved?
Firstly, I agree that JPA is a crock o ****e. I'm not sure whether Air Cdre Tonks' or Mick Seamarks' gongs were JPA related, but the latter is but a WO who was put in a post to try and make the best of a bad job. Who knows how bad it would be without the work that he has done? You can't blame him for the shambles that is JPA (well you can, but it seems a bit short sighted to me) as at that rank you don't get to make decisions about whether or not to introduce programmes of that size, you just get told to make it work. BTW, I don't know Mick Seamarks or anyone who works with him, but good luck to him all the same.
Secondly, and on a more general point, I was once told that the only person who knows the true worth of a medal is the recipient. Doesn't stop the rest of us from pontificating though...