Top Brass Resigning
I attended a lecture 18 months ago by a very senior retired officer, who had been involved in a well known bust up with the political masters.
He was asked the question as to why he had not resigned and then kicked up a stink.
He replied along the lines that a military chief, resigning over any issue is no more than a 'one day wonder' and the political calculation is that the next man in will carry the political line and there will be little or no lasting damage. He cited several examples of this, all of which showed his view to be true.
His view was that you continue to fight your corner from within and that it is more difficult for a Government to sack a defence chief than for a prime minister to sack one of his own front bench or shuffle him/her further down the pack.
Sir Richard was right to remain and be a difficult cuss from within, I just wish the other chiefs had been a bit more supportive in public.
O-D