Thanks for the replies so far! Yeah, recon guys are starting to leave in numbers now. On my Sqn we have one out mid year, myself next yr and another 2 end '07. May not sound extreme but these are all experienced guys.. You look at the front line now (F3) and the only 2nd tourists are execs pretty much, so overall experience is V low.
Good advice thanks about the MMC/IR. Will look into that a bit further. Have been told by a few guys now that it's worth paying the extra for a larger a/c MMC vs something like a kingair. Unfortunately I'm having to dig pretty deep into the money jar and she's starting to shimmy but sounds like it will be worth it.