what i would add to this re the mid east, is this, very stronger SOP'S are good to a point, but airman ship, and sometimes having to think outside the box, well i find that just doesn't happen out here. (flying by numbers)all the time.
you try to pass on experience, but if that clashes with sop's or aircrew notices (fuel v wx considerations, or local area knowledge), then the whole notion of maybe doing something different, but legal, doesn't compute.