OA,
Just so you do not get me wrong, I completely understand that the CVF is about Strike and projecting Air Power. My point is, that there are unique and perishable skills about operating from a ship at sea. Hopping on for a week or so, does not an operationally capable force make. If the CVF is to be able to project power effectively, then a significant proportion of JFH will need to spend time on the boat. The two current campaigns have skewed somewhat, Defence focus. The UK will not be in Iraq forever (Afghanistan maybe). There will be other problems. You only have to look at recent Russian intentions in the Arctic over resources,, and the reaction of Canada etc, to see the future. As the Oil/Gas/Steel/etc runs out, resources are going to be a much more important issue. Yes, the best place to operate in Iraqistan at the moment is ashore, but you have to get there first. Who knows where we will be in 10 years from now. We may be in the South Atlantic, protecting the Falklands again. More likely, we will be off antarctica, protecting UK mineral companies and fishing vessels from aggression. (Think Cod Wars). Yes Stanley is there, but a CVF could stay on station, poised for weeks, not hours. Yes, come a big fight, you would need land based air power to resolve the issue, much as you need troops on the ground. But, in the build up to a conflict, maritime based air power, can loiter, out of sight, striking when required, with the back up form land based air also when required.
The RN generically has neither the people or the kit to Command and Control FJ assets at either the operational or tactical level. To do so would require a DTIO and JFACHQ type set-up, afloat.
Well....that comment does not even deserve a reply
CVF is coming, once here the UK will have a fantastic asset that can be used for both operational and diplomatic purposes, projecting power all around the world, providing support for our friends and "speaking softly" to those who would do us or our interests harm. To suggest that it should be scrapped just because it does not fit the current crisis, does not mean it will not have significant utility in the future.