If I'm honest I find it moderately offensive the way some of the 'old and bold' continue to slag off today's military because it isn't the same organisation they joined back in 1962 (or whenever). I think some people need to get over themselves and accept the fact that the world will continue to evolve and sadly things will change. Not always for the better but c'est la vie. If people hadn't accepted change in the past we would never have had an Airforce and we'd still be using aircraft for artillery spotting...
Bob, the point is that, while there were earlier redunancy and 'Golden Bowler' schemes, the RAF was still large enough to cope and for most people very little changed in their microcosm. But since the mid-90s, the RAF effectively imploded. The RAF hospitals closed, virtually everything else was cut to the bone and the future was increasingly grim for everyone except a few arse-licking star-hungry thrusters.
As was once said, when your 'goodies' bucket fails to counterbalance your '$hit' bucket, it's time to pull the B&Y. But the problem now is that there is cock-all with which to fill the 'goodies' bucket and far too much with which to fill the '$hit' bucket....
If you ever find a copy of the old 'Frustration' FS movie, you'll see what the real RAF used to consider frustrating for most aircrew. Whereas the same things nowadays would be considered quite luxurious!
Once the UK wises up and stops wasting our best people, money and time in an unwinnable war in Afghanistan, just what roles
will the UK's Armed Forces be expected to fill?