Thanks Sunfish, that's quite a list. I shouldn't even bother replying, because it's a waste of time, but then again I'm stupid and have nothing better to do right now. So:
- You've clearly encountered a few RAAF/ex-RAAF officers who were d1ckheads. So have I. Every organisation has them, and I've met some appalling pricks from all 3 services (the worst being from the Army, as it happens). The vast majority were great blokes, though.
- You seem to attach a lot of weight to 'things you've been told'. What you were told about RAAF Chinook ops is at odds with the understanding of any of the Chook drivers I've known. The stuff you were told about RAAF choppers in Vietnam is fascinating, although I've never heard anything remotely like it before.
- I'm not sure what the F-111 DSRS says about wider RAAF culture, if anything. In any case, if you're trying to portray the RAAF as worse than the Army or Navy, you're on very shaky ground when it comes to scandals which reflect poorly on a service's culture! Enough said on that one...
- Your final para about possible corruption in CASA which is definitely caused by ex-RAAF types doesn't really make a lot of sense. (And if you truly believe that meaningful corruption can't exist in the private sector, then we're not inhabiting the same planet.)
I'll be the first to agree with you that the RAAF has produced some appalling clowns and done some pretty ordinary things. So has just about every other organisation I can think of, including those you think so highly of. I still can't see that you're in any way qualified to pass judgement on thousands of people you've never met and have no knowledge of, however much confidence you might have in your own opinions. It seems that you're suffering from some serious long-term confirmation bias - which is why I'm wasting my time here
. Enough from me.