Yeah that's my experience down to a T. I once heard one of the top generals talking on the radio about the state of the MoD and he was saying that the basic ca

Yeah that's my experience down to a T. I once heard one of the top generals talking on the radio about the state of the MoD and he was saying that the basic career path was to suck up a decade or two of dirt before finding a desk job so obscure you can hide away for the next three or four decades and earn a pretty pension. I've always found it intriguing how well this seems to parallel academia. Where are you based? Get in touch if you fancy chatting some time (email in profile), I find it helps to vent spleen sometimes ;)