TUC
It was actually Air Commodore Baber by the time he was leading the MAA's predecessor. CHC had started his review exercise with a promise to name names if he found blame. I think he felt bound by that position when push came to shove.
I'm not sure which part of the MAA you were dealing with. I well remember sitting in a meeting around 3 years ago which was chaired by a MAA person where everyone (representing 10 or so european MAAs) was telling the Italian MAA equivalent that they had got it wrong. To be fair, during the first few years of the MAA's existence, I found most members had a reasonable appreciation of airworthiness principles.
As regards BDR, most military aviation takes place during peacetime so the emphasis on airworthiness is reasonable and cogent. I'm far from convinced that you can apply an airworthiness standard to BDR because its a discipline which only comes into play when the only meaningful standard is balancing operational necessity against the likelihood of fatality. For me the MAA have got this right; its not an area for regulation but it makes sense that the operators understand risk assessment and management so that their judgements can be defended if questions are asked.
EAP