Changing the system
CHUG The question has to be WHY and for what reason would any sane person seek to diminish the quality of airworthiness at any level of aviation, and especially that involving complex machines (RAF) and the training of minors (ATC).
I always held the RAF in the highest regard when sharing their airfields as part of the gliding world. However when I moved over to power and had to use their facilities as a customer, it became quite obvious that the actual 'Flying' was not the foremost feature of the service organisation (as it had always been) and an attitude of 'jobsworths' seemed to infiltrate what had been a trade led tech based operation. No doubt this decline affected all levels of the service, and led to a situation where there was a real lack of actual tech knowledge in the highest echelons. No doubt the demise of the solid trade training (such as Halton) must have eventually affected all levels, but why this was not picked up on earlier was a serious omission that they only have themselves to blame. In the case of the Nimrod (in theatre) scenario it amazes me that crew escape was not even considered; especially in a war zone and operating at the height that made it quite feasible.