Guys,
I don't want to join in any MAA bashing - there are plenty of threads for that. But Pheasant's post raises a good point about the tendency to throw numbers of people at an issue, generate jobs, and the 'service politics' angle.
The MAA is now a very substantial organisation. That's due in large part to the original decision to make it headed by a three-star, so as to signify the importance of what we now call 'air safety'. (By the way, overall defence safety managed fine with a two star lead for years, and the excellent naval nuclear safety record was due to a well managed team led by a one star).
But three star it was, and so a large pyramid has been created to justify and feed the resulting two and one star posts. The 'ripple down' effect was clearly shown in the AAIU, where the outstanding RN AIU (commended by Haddon-Cave), which was headed for many, many years by a suitably experienced and trained (I will not use the 'SQEP' 'word') SO2, became the MAAIB, which now apparently required a full Colonel to head it up. Plus other SO1s and SO2s. Oh, and the Colonel (plus many of the new SO1s and SO2s) had zero practical experience of accident investigation.
But there is more. The MAA was formed in large part by 'sweeping up' as many experienced DE&S staffs as possible. Unfortunately, that led to a massive gap in DE&S's ability to manage its own air safety issues. So, presto, the DE&S (Defence?) Airworthiness Team (DAT) was formed. The Deputy Head is a Group Captain, so that makes the head CS approximately a one star. DAT apparently exists to:
Provide help to Project Teams and Operating Centres in DE&S manage airworthiness
Drive consistency and good practice across the DE&S
Provide confidence to CoM(Air) that the organisation is doing so
A one star. To head a support department. See the problem? By the way, I have absolutely no doubt that the people in the DAT are working their bums off - but I'll take a decent bet that a lot of the 'stuff' is firmly of the 'self licking lollipop' sort. It's not the fault of the SO1s and below.
This is my last input to this thread - I just hope that somewhere, someone is reading this and using the examples we've all highlighted to take a sharp sword to the MoD's staff organisations.
Best regards as ever to those SO2s and SO1s doing real jobs,
Engines
Last edited by Engines; 29th Jan 2015 at 16:37.