Hovering at 1000' on goggles - we have had to do a lot of this since the introduction of our FLIR/MSS turret and there was some resistance from some pilots who were won over once they tried it and became familiar with it. As Sid says, with the appropriate references (preferably a decent visual horizon) it is a very straightforward task.
Eyestrain - no you shouldn't get it because you should focus your goggles properly and they have a dioptre adjustment on the eyepiece lens.
Neck ache - the military tend to just get on with it and leave any moaning to the crewroom - I suspect that the compensation culture prevalent in civvystrasse might prompt 'scientific' and 'expert' investigation - to some extent it will depend on which goggles get used as some are worse than others for weight balance.
NVG stowage - we've been waiting for a proper stowage for goggles on the Sea King for years but since you tend to put them on at the beginning of the flight (flipping them up or down as you need them) and then take them off at the end, it is not such a big problem.
The stage 1 clearance will aid lookout and to some extent navigation but NVGs really come into their own for landing in unrecced sites and fields. Can you operate Cat A into a site where you dont know if the surface is suitable for a single engine landing?
Sid, I mentioned the crew issue after reading the thread about an observer failing training and then being reinstated - operating on NVG is another skill they will have to aquire and show some ability on before they are let loose on Stage 2 ops.