So it seems the MBA qualification is the root of all evil
The erosion of techie pay in pay 2000 was the start of the rot. How on earth a JNCO chef held the same responsibility (and pay) as a JNCO techie was lost on me at the pay 2000 briefings. The NEM has made noises about specialist pay; let's hope they follow through on it for tech trades - that would at least be a start.
The core poison in this is the reduction in overall manning and the result this has on harmony. In the pre end to end (remember that buzz word?) days we had multiple bays, ASF etc. this allowed rotation of personnel through the 2nd and 3rd line environments to improve domestic harmony if required. It also provided a very good pool of knowledgable guys who could supplement 1st line techies with their knowledge on dets etc. The other consequence of having higher tech manning on Stn was people who could run the things that made the RAF worth being in i.e. expends, sports clubs....
The arrival of the fwd and depth concept really was the line in the sand where we lost that on Stn rotation ability. Couple that with manning being cut to the bone and more dets to sh1t places and we have a recipe for disappointment in a volunteer force.
The initiatives I have cited above are, I believe, the brainwaves of mgmt consultancy firms (McKinsey et al) and have been adopted by those above. Undoubtedly there are
some areas of defence which can have general management concepts applied - but one has to step back and examine if those concepts are really appropriate to a unique organisation whose primary job is to rapidly generate aircraft to meet the flying program in peacetime and in theatre.
We find ourselves in a scenario where the defence budget does not stretch as far as it used to. The additional oversight/policy (MAA etc.) is making defence more difficult and ultimately more expensive (i am not arguing for or against MAA). This means the old days of tech pay, ASFs, spare manning and the derived benefits they brought are behind us. It is much easier to quantify the (increased cost) of bringing a piece of kit into service than it is to quantify the value a few more Stn bods would bring - and guess which wins.
It is only when incidents like lossiemouth raise their head do the people who hired McKinsey think for a second. But then their job is to deliver a capability and not blow the budget.
Holding an MBA does not instantly make you a cock, nor is it a bad qualification as long as its content is applied to contexts where it suits. It is not a substitution for good management merely an education in theoretical management practices.
I sincerely hope some lessons are learned from the Lossiemouth saga and actually acted on.
H