the dilution of expertise is an excuse IMHO
Dilution of expertise is not an excuse; it is a Fact. Take an SH sqn circa 1989and there would be no first tourists completing exec type tasks. They were learning to fly the aeroplane in order to meet the operational task. They would be expected to complete at least two tours on their post 'wings' type before dreaming of alternative types / roles / instructional posts. A fast learner may end up as a trainer in the latter part of their first tour in anticipation of joining a sister Sqn feet running and ready to assume some additional burdens of responsibility.
A decade later (1999) it was still very similar although the threshold of extra duties was already starting to come forward. First tourist Deputy Flt Cdrs were rare if not unknown. FJ crossovers were available and pursued by several good quality pilots. Gulf War 1 was just around the corner and crew levels were cut in half on the Puma fleet as the Co-pilot/Nav was introduced. This required a mindset change that was not readily accepted by either member of the former 2 man crew. It was the following 5 years that were to see the Puma fleet critically short of lamp swinging, sandbag owning veterans passing on the experience of themselves and the jungle drum archives to the new generation. Sadly redundancy was the prime subject of conversation in crewrooms followed closely by 'airlines', and that along with fixed wg QFI is were the experience departed to. Their departure left a void. A void that could not be replaced at all. I know from personal experience that the 'example' set by influencial staff at this time was appalling. "Dundiggin" may remember 4 condors (OCF) becoming 'open reporting', and therefore 'in-house'. There were another 2 that should have been written by third parties that never saw the light of day. The 'bad example' was learnt by the next generation, and enhanced by inexperienced officers being given career enhancing opportunities (responsibility) when they should be learning to operate an aeroplane. I choose the word 'operate' quite deliberatly.
It would be nice to conclude with a proposed solution; but I can't. The system is what it has become, but nobody can say that dilution of inexperience is an excuse, for it is most certainly a fact. The danger period was always the 2000 flying hour mark, and I am led to believe that the advertised fiqure nowadays is half that. Surely that in itself is testiment to the negative changes of the last 20 years. Frankly I think that this would have happened even without the operational burden of today.