Jungly - it's not an either / or situation - if guys know there is a respite tour available then they are less likely to leave.
The military can post people where it likes so you can end up on SH whether you want to or not. But if you have a bigger pool to choose from and there is an increased opportunity to get back to SAR after a couple of tours SH, guys are far more likely to stay in and see their full careers out rather than banging out to civvy street.
Mil SAR is a fantastic
PR tool and an excellent recruiting medium - you overstate the costs which are lower than civilianising it. The argument that SAR skills were transferred to the SH world was a weak one and should instead have been replaced by highlighting the highly professional nature of milSAR - emphasising that the same personal and professional qualities expected in any military flying were demonstrated by the SAR force 24/7.
Your belief that anything non-warfighting should be shed is why we are up sh*tcreek at the moment since our retention and recruiting across all 3 services is poor - why? because not everyone joins the military to go to war and if that is all you offer, they will go and get their kicks elsewhere.
If budgets are so important why are we agreeing to fund 70% of SARH???