....a missed opportunity?
I will offer the following observation (some might disagree with me, but there's nothing new there)...
I personally know of at least a handful of aircrew, non pilots, both Flt Lt and Sqn Ldr, who have spent the last 10+ years in cozy, out of the way jobs, going nowhere near the "front line" in UK, let alone anywhere overseas. When the criteria for tranche 1 were announced, i.e. OOA = safe, they put their hands up for OOA tours, and most seem to have succeeded in getting one. Having therefore survived tranche 1, it now appears that, with no aircrew in tranche 2, they are safe to continue in their "feathering their own nest" mode for the remainder of their careers - on the basis that a leopard doesn't change its spots.
In the meantime, some damn good individuals have been shown the door....
Feel free to disagree with me, it's what normally happens!