One of the unintended consequences of the tapering of FP on 'non-flying related' posts is the loss of Sqn Ldr and Wg Cdr 'any branch' jobs. I had three consecutive 'any branch' posts (2 SO2, 1 SO1) that were very, very interesting and 2 were very operationally related, giving a ground branch officer some very useful and career-broadening experience.
It seems that these jobs now have 'flying related' annotations, and the suspicion is that this is about finding places were GD officers can retain FP (which I don't mind) but this is resulting in greater stove-piping of non-GD offices. The nett effect of this (set against Project Sirius) is that there will be very few non-aircrew above Gp Capt, as they will not seem to be competitive due to the lack of Joint and MB experience.
Recently, a good friend of mine - a Pers Branch officer - was selected in competition for a diplomatic post in the ME. He was extremely well qualified and suited for the position, but he was rejected by the FCO rep in the country as he didn't have 'wings' - even though the post had nothing directly to do about flying or ops. This mate has now PVRd, I believe.
Last edited by Whenurhappy; 10th Jun 2012 at 06:37.