Vec
The military SAR Flt I'm sat on right now has 18 aircrew on the books, of whom one is long-term sick and one is in the Falklands. That makes 16 equivalent to Lee (who don't do dets and would get rid of non-effectives). Out of that 16 is provided one crew 24/7 (as at Lee) and a second crew daylight hours (definitely not as at Lee). Fairly comparable with Lee's "15 at a push", don't you think?
Not that I don't agree that Mil SAR drags a huge and unwieldy tail around. Just that the argument should stand on its own merits - it doesn't need exaggeration.
Sven