In the civilian world such a monumental cock up would have led to instant dismissal and possibly other implications.
I'm afraid I have to disagree with you there.
In the civilian sector at a level where you would be making purchase decisions involving such large amounts of money as in the Chinook fiasco you are pretty much well looked after whatever happens. Do well and you get a nice big bonus, do poorly and you get a nice big severance payment.
Since I left the RAF last year I've been working for the worlds largest logistics company and in that time one huge cock-up I've seen (resulting in half a million being spent on an unusable white elephant of a system) actually led to the culprit being promoted to get them away from the scene of their crime.
