Actually,
the RAF has lost a lot of good men. Full stop. So has the Army and the Navy.
The reasons vary from cock ups to incompetence; the reactions vary from humble pride to vindictive self righteousness.
When the political establishment is caught in the glare of public pressure, sensible decisions are overruled by short term political expedience which disregards the operational consequences and inevitable financial penalties.
To those who haven’t seen it, go to the Channel 4 documentary on the C17 (links on another thread) and tell me our culture & priorities are wrong.
Some of those guys have been killed/injured because we’re not there.
R.I.P CXX/3 (It's not your fault)