Allan, please see PM, I put this message in the wrong forum to start with.
Beags, yes, I believe it is and probably because there aircrew pool continues to drain away. I made the point you just made earlier on. The Ops tour was both a rest tour, something that happened in WW2 even, and a good broadening tool as well. You had to read and learn all the Op Orders and Procedure books etc and this stood you in good stead later.
It was a shame however that Ops Officer was always considered a lowly post as I believe many putative flt commanders would have benefited from a FOFL Ops tour.