C130 Techie, I sincerely hope that the RAF will find some tangible way of rewarding you for your 34+ years of loyal, hard-working service when you finally retire. I doubt very much whether there will be many others of similar calibre able to fill your footsteps when you leave.
After joining in 1968, I stuck it out for 35 years, but left at 52 when I couldn't stand the way loyalty, effort and initiative were being sacrificed on the altar of yes-man penny-pinching. Worse still were the selfish ambitions of thrusting, sycophantic 'leaders' whose only real interest was their next promotion.
Good luck for the next 3½ years!