I hate to admit it, but my opinion of the leaders of the FAA declined rapidly as I grew into my forties and was still in. So maybe it was an age and experience thing? I grew older and wiser, or more bitter and twisted?
I really don't know. I simply prostituted myself until I got the pension I wanted then quit leaving them wanting more. Not proud of that but I felt I owed it to myself if anyone (the pension).
I would hate to work for someone like Karen Brady now, but I did work for a couple of Naval Officers I'm convinced would have liked to have been Karen Brady.
The two senior civilian guys I work for now came up from the bottom as it were, and are both pretty excellent leaders and managers but in a very unconventional style. I work now in very high intensity, higher than average risk-intense industry, for want of a better but poor phrase and these two really measure up when it counts.
Lost count of how many naval officers I saw being generally very unpleasant at us over the years, at times, very unedifying and undignified and man am I glad to say I don't suffer that these days.
So many managers in the military are snooty, snobbish, elitist and generally capable of being very rude to their junior staff - I frequently saw it and experienced it. Terrible. A bullying thing, without a doubt aimed at staff who cant really hit back.
It made me wonder if the military system was actually as good as it made itself out to be.
So I finally took the small money, but better pension and left for better things.
Strongly recommend anyone who works within a crap organization to get out and seek better employment elsewhere.