Yes, I understand the risk issues but we were military pilots who might be asked to do far more dangerous things than just hover committed - it was more about mindset than anything else. You don't find SH pilots bleating about operating near the limits of their aircraft in hostile conditions but unfortunately, some in the MilSAR force forget they were actually in the military and became slightly Prima-donna-ish about such things.
Yes, the risk/reward balance sometimes went the wrong way but you know as well as I do that the initial scramble report may be wildly wrong about the nature of the injuries and you don't want to be the one who played the 'safety card' when someone was bleeding out on a hill.
Perhaps it is a generational thing and the fact that I did more than just SAR in 32 years but I have always been comfortable with the risks involved - once you start worrying yourself about that too much you would never get airborne.
I agree entirely about the advantages of all the new kit and I am the biggest advocate of things like TAS - I wouldn't fly without it now - but I still maintain that using 'power-by the hour' or similar COMO terms would have retained out Mil capability whilst equipping us with the best kit available - I think we threw the baby out with the bathwater.
I know Bristow have the best people - I used to work with most of them!