No rose coloured glasses, I just know enough about CASA. As you know I had a fair bit to do with flying ops people when I was flying for a living and was an emloyee of the CAA before I went flying.
In the not too distant past there were a lot of ex-military types that did have little if any civilian experience but there is a definite shift away from that now. So much of a shift that a lot have left CASA because they are uncomfortable with the change. You will probably see a lot of different faces doing ramp checks now and, I believe, a bit of a different attitude towards the job by the inspectorate. This isn't to say that there isn't a need to enforce the regulations but that the emphasis is on a safe outcome.
As for the "dark side". It's all peace, light and happiness where I am!
