60,
As this seems to be a new approach to incorporating the guys in back more than has been done in the past then it shall take time and effort to bring it together.
Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) reminds Pilots that resources outside the Cockpit can be valuable assets....which of course includes the guys in the back.
The majority of my Crew served aircraft time was spent in Chinooks and was done long before CRM gained its official wings and took off.
We very much included the guys in the back with the Flight Engineer being the Lead of the three man cabin crew (or up to ten or so depending upon the mission).
We did to include them in monitoring the cockpit so much but did rely upon them for "minding the store" in back, doing maintenance checks, clearing us into and out of LZ's, looking for air traffic, and of course handling the Machine guns for defense of the aircraft. It was not unheard of that sometimes in bad weather we might even inquire of them if they saw anything familiar.....which was very useful information sometimes.
I would suggest inter-crew discussions about this new system and its implementation be done over coffee or other aviation related beverages with a view to determine what works best, which input has the most value and effectiveness, and what only detracts from essential transfer of information. Sometimes too much information can lead to distraction or delay at a critical moment.
The two halves of the Crew....those in front and those in back....need to know what actions the other will be taking...are taking...and will take.....during emergencies so that each know ahead of time what they can or should do without being told to do.
An example....in our Preflight Brief at the start of the day I had to read the Rules of Engagement directly off the Yellow Card issued to us by Command.....and I did word for word. Then, upon putting that card back into its appointed place in the Checklist folder....I gave the Aircraft Commander's Brief which elaborated on those ROE's.....that way we had a clear understanding that if we were getting shot at AND hit.....and if the Gunner knew where the Friendlies were...and knew where the bad guys were....then he had my express permission to start shooting but all other instances he had to inform me of the situation first and get my permission. My responsibility was to keep the crew briefed on where the friendlies were and were not....which I would obtain from the unit on the ground we were working with. I used the same method for the jettisoning of external loads during an inflight emergency.....the Flight Engineer or Crew Member in control of the cargo hook position was instructed when he should unilaterally decide to jettison the underslung cargo....and not wait to inform the Pilots. Outside of the few reasons that would justify that he was to inform the Pilots of the situation and we would make a decision based upon all the factors.
The CRM thing demands trust and respect between all of the members of the crew but with a proper sharing of authority amongst the crew with the Aircraft Command being the senior and lead authority but not having absolute dictatorial authority....but he does hold the final authority and responsibility for the safe operation of the aircraft and the other Crew Members are charged with helping the AC to make the best decisions possible based upon good information that is provided in a careful effective manner.
You are asking very good questions....and have an excellent perception of the need for effective implementation of he new method.
Keep us posted on how it is going ....just remember there is a lot of experience amongst the attendee's here....and there is excellent posts to be read and sometimes learned from....even if it is about some way not to do something.
We sometimes throw brickbats at one another but it is usually done with a good heart....except when I beat up on Crab because he always deserves it....meaning anytime when he disagrees with me.
