O-A
Well said sir. Your points are all well made - I only wish those in higher authority (CM and IPTL) would echo them. I suspect you are correct with regard to the origin of the Dave wrong decision and Swampy also identifies one of the arguments (DLT) used to support that decision. ISTR someone trying to do some comparative studies in terms of operability index in the SWAPPS some years ago as part of that (didn't make much difference 5% or so IIRC).
Interestingly, the MN seem to handle DLT quite happily (alright, their ship works out of Toulon), but given the relative size of the two air arms they seem to manage the overhead quite well. As far as the USN is concerned, other than basic training using the Goshawk, I'm not sure that the CAG work-up is terribly different to ours. The carrier qualification requirement after each in-port period, (AIUI) can be undertaken in a day or two tops.