AA: Oh no; it is far worse than that. I am (if PPPA get their act together) to become a Burnham Lecturer so I will be blunter than I am now, indeed blunter than a blunt thing in Bluntland. However, as there will still be RAF aircraft flying around the circuit outside my classroom window and the students will all be RAF officers then I won't have cut all my ties with the Military aviation world after too many years to mention (but not as many as some of the old sweats frequenting this forum).
But going back to the thread, there are definite moves afoot to try and avoid RAF students holding between Phase 1 and Phase 2 trg (it is expensive but not always wasteful to the student if the "hold" is worthwhile) so this is also bound to result in reduced recruiting whilst the trg pipeline is adjusted yet again. That said people are leaving all the time and recruiting will improve again - at least I hope so Saintsman.