Trevor:
The RAAF was the most professional and competent unit with the best and most dedicated people I have ever been associated with.
With respect, Trevor, "competence", "professional" and "dedicated" are irrelevant to this discussion for obvious reasons that I don't need to go into.
What I think Dick is talking about is a well known and highly dangerous and unique military mind set that is extremely resistant to change in any form and regards any disagreement by anyone as disloyalty, sedition, disobedience or outright treason, and therefore deserving of punishment. We are not talking about the personal attributes of individuals. Furthermore this mindset is exclusive to the military and has no "civilian" counterpart except perhaps in the imagined behaviour of very senior judges.
I have personally seen that mindset exhibited by RAAF officers outside the service and it is extremely unpleasant to observe. If this type of ex officer inhabits CASA then we are in deep trouble and people will eventually lose their lives because of it.
Furthermore, the behaviour I characterised above is a very well known military problem that has gotten a great many soldiers, sailors and aviators killed in a variety of wars.
Tp put that another way Trevor, "loyalty", "professionalism" and "dedication" have combined many times to frustrate efforts by experienced and knowledgeable subordinates to change the disastrous course of action taken by senior military officers in many campaigns and if CASA staff value those traits above the application of sound common senses proposed by Dick Smith then we are in very dangerous waters.
To put that yet another way Trevor, get a copy of "The Rules Of The Game" by Andrew Gordon and read about the Royal Navy and the problems from about 1870 to this day of the military mind coping with technological change and the tug of war between the desirable character traits of "Obedience" and "Initiative".
Disclaimer: my DIL is RAAF and she and her service sisters are wonderful, as are many of the fine RAAF gentlemen I know.