FWIW I am detecting another phase of military life unfolding and not a welcome one. There is a growing trend that is quite possibly 'blame culture' under the banner of Duty Holders numerous and various. Added to this that it is not necessarily the man at the top who will 'carry the can' when something contentious unfolds. I do not see this being a productive development for it may encourage risk averse leaders. I could be wrong, for I often am, but watch this space for I think that not only has a 'Can-do' attitude had its day, but also there maybe a future in store in which many will not make decisions without top-cover. The morale is, dont look back but worry for the future.

TM, blame culture was rampant in the 70s so nothing new there. Sqn Cdrs were fired left (and maybe right and centre) if one of their blokes screwed up. BoI would go through a sqn with a finer tooth comb than a pre-AOCs uncovering any evidence of slackness or whatever which resulted in the dismissal of the sqn cdr and sometimes stn cdr too. That was why people like the B-word and J-P at Lossie were such . . . . . . . s as they feared for their careers.

You can imagine the culture to which that led.

Fully agree with PN. In comparison with 20-odd years ago, I think the operating culture we have today is far, far better and thus safer than it was in the past. That's not to say people don't get sacked these days (as a certain field-leading sqn has discovered), but it's not the instant scapegoating that used to occur.