thebword,
Part of the problem the RAF has is in the way it portrays itself to the other 2 Services and the politicians. The attitude "if it flies it must be RAF" articulated most forcefully by the immediately previous CAS (and still argued by some 3*s) does the RAF n o favours at all. Similarly, to articulate that only the RAF does "Air Power" when this is clearly not the case also does your Service no favours. Air Power takes many forms, including AH , the RN's attack and ASaC helos.
I guess the highlight of this attitude was the overt attempt to get rid of the FAA from the Harrier Force. This action did real damage to the RAF in the eyes of both Services and politicians and has not been forgotten by either. The ultimate removal of the capabiliity from Afg and subsequent FE@R reduction in favour of GR4 was cynical and spiteful. The same could be argued for the senseless removal of the, very cost effective, RN Jetstream T3s by the then RAF ACDS(RP).
I am a huge fan of the RAF but they need to get rid of their inferiority complex, be inclusive and start winning friends if they are to have a robust future.