Originally Posted by
megan
Just as the RAAF contracted out their SAR requirement, in fact I'm wondering when all of the military will be put out to contract, we already have line aircraft maintenance, catering, and who knows what else. I'm sure all the contract agreements have a "no combat please" clause.
Contracting out SAR is a big money saver if you look at it short term. You don't have to worry about keeping your guy's current whilst still having a crew and aircraft available to cover the standby requirements. You just make that a contractor issue. It also frees the ADF guys up to focus on their primary roles.
When you aren't deploying those guys and the only output they give back is (an often weak attempt) at support to the high risk weather season you may see some benefit to having a SQN or troop who are current and trained in SAR type operations.