When I joined the RAF we most certainly had had leaders and commanders.
My first squadron commander, who subsequently went on to be a station commander (and beyond), taught me some valuable lessons about leadership. He had the squadron (and later his station) eating out of the palm of his hand and was universally respected and admired. Nearly 40 years after my arrival interview in his office I still could call him nothing else but "Boss" at our annual reunion. He was not alone in those days; there were many genuine leaders who could engender both loyalty and affection. In fact good leaders and commanders was the norm.
Where did it all go wrong? I believe about the time the RAF started talking about managers, executives, directors, budget holders and agencies. The Service lost itself in management speak and a whole generation of navel-gazing, anally-retentive senior officers was born.
It saddens me to read a thread such as this. So many RAF officers of today are quite clearly very jaundiced, have little loyalty and have no respect for their senior officers, who in turn appear blind to the needs and aspirations of their subordinates.
Quite what can be done to recover the situation is beyond me,