The RAF Pay Colonel’s team at the time said that there were only going to be a couple affected and for such a small number there would be no adjustment to the rules.
But surely, that only should only increase the ability and willingness to tweak things? Why are these people hiding behind the "them's the rules and rules is rules" mantra?
If the new USAF Secretary (title?) Deborah James can put the brakes on things over there a few weeks back (namely, the 'strategic pause') when it realised the redundancy detail was wrong, why can't we? Especially when it's 'only' for a few well deserving people. Maybe we need more women and/or less rear end prescriptive dogma, and certainly more of the flexibility that front line commanders and troops are constantly being exhorted to demonstrate and embrace. Time to mow the lawn.