So what exactly did all these people do to deserve an award?
c130jbloke - Although said in response to a different question, Jambo Jet has also answered your question. These individuals were fortunate enough to have a chain of command that actually thought about their troops, had the good fortune to be able to string a coherent sentence together and then actually been bothered to write the citation in the first place.
It is my opinion that as an organisational whole, the RAF is shockingly bad at putting its people forward for honours and awards compared to the other services. There seems to have been a gradual move over the years to a mindset of you are paid to do your job, so just being good at what you do isn't enough. A couple of years ago, I put one of my FS's name forward for an award precisely for that very reason; he had shown, over many many years, a level of technical ability and personal qualities that lead to an unusual level of respect and trust by his peers, subordinates and seniors. He ended up getting an MBE and was the only RAF name on that list that received such an award for being exceptional at what he did. That he was the only recipient on that basis was also noted by Air Cmd when they put out a report noting a degree of disappointment that Chains of Command weren't recognising individuals for their abilities at a time of high op tempo.
Now there are those who suggest that being good at your job is what you get paid and promoted for. I would have agreed entirely until recently, but as Big Pants notes, the Telegraph seems to have summed things up far more eloquently than I ever could. Furthemore, a quick look at the link to the Cabinet Office honours page suggests that
72% of recipients are people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity
So it seems that these days being paid should no longer be seen as a barrier to deserving individuals being nominated.
Some of the wider nominations did also raise an eyebrow at Melchett Towers this morning, including as Tableview notes, that Emin creature. The number of Olympic awards, whilst unsurprising and welcome after one of the few bright spots in an otherwise pretty dismal year, does also highlight the inconsistencies in Govt policy towards double medalling. If the Armed Forces cannot accept and wear NATO or other medals for operations where a UK medal has been awarded, does that mean the Olympic recipients will have to hand their medals back? No? Thought as much, the usual double standards by politicians where it suits.