the Merlin HAS taken over from the King (except the SAR Heros and bag freaks of course).
... and the junglies as previously mentioned. So basically it has taken over from the Mk6 ASW SK ie in the role of CCD - Combat Cabbage Delivery. Very worthwhile! (although L11 does make the fisheads happy. Shame L11 is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard in a network centric environment. Never mind.)
And why do you class the ASaC operators as freaks? Sounds like a newbie with no appreciation of tactical proficiency.
Oggin.