I'm told that all this is centralised these days by various desks and offices, which defeats the whole point.
Ah, I think you are missing the point; having dedicated people that do this as their main job and have access to assets such as National Standby or 32 Sqn aircraft makes things better, not worse. A sqn boss may get lots of brownie points organizing something adhoc, but I'd rather have a specialist sorting it out, not someone that may never have done it before.
You are right in another sense though, in that the levers to retain people aren't held by sqns, wings or stns. Yes, they might be able to get you off a det or enable you to have a bit more time at home in times of trouble, but ultimately it will be pay, pensions, postings and lifestyle that hold people in, and a lot of those aren't even controlled by VSOs.
the RAF is your Sqn/Unit/Wing etc,
Personally I think that is a very insular view of things that doesn't reflect the modern services. I spend a large chunk of my working week dealing with tri-service HQs, other stations, services, operational theaters etc and I know a lot of people will be the same. I would go so far as to say that despite wearing a blue uniform, a lot of the time I don't even feel like the RAF is my service!
Different things will keep different people in and you will never be able to retain everyone. Some will want more time in the cockpit, some will want a variety of postings and some interesting ops whereas others won't want to move or deploy away from family. Most will want more money but unless people are already reasonably happy or there is a very large chunk of it, money won't hold people in forever.
To answer your earlier question, no I have not told anyone that the RAF doesn't give a sh*t about them using those words, but I have told them using the same words as Leon. Everyone want's different things from life, and when the RAF is no longer what you want, it is time to leave.