One of the problems we have faced over time is that the "operational necessity to get us through a specific task" becomes "that's how we do business". The term "Normalising Deviance" is used to explain how we start by patching things up with the best intent of doing it properly, but we never quite get round to fixing it and the patch becomes the norm.
So did the shortage of techies (and here I count myself as one who jumped) get masked by the "Can do" attitude the RAF is famous for, until we have passed the point of no-return?