ATG:-
But he's not a Junior Officer; as we've been told before, he's got 30+ years of experience as an Officer.
He's a Flt Lt, ergo he is a JO. As to the PAS business, you make it sound as though he might just as well be a contracted-out civvie by your job description. He is primarily an officer (that's the "O" bit in JO!), as are all commissioned aircrew. It sounds to me as though the RAF is cutting its nose to spite its face. Perhaps though it is attempting to save the face of the RAF Star Chamber rather than that of the Royal Air Force. They are two very different things. The job of the Royal Air Force is to exert Air Power on behalf of the United Kingdom. The job of the Star Chamber is to protect past and present VSOs from the consequences of their actions (be they illegal orders or gross incompetence) by;
a). Covering them up for as long as is possible and,
b). Finding scapegoats amongst those of 1* and below (often well below!) and,
c). Diverting attention by creating contentious situations such as in this case. If we are busy arguing about the rights and wrongs of this sentence then we are not wondering about the overall leadership of the RAF (or lack of it!).