BenThere, I don't know to which 'dicey situations' your people expose their tankers, but in 20 years on RAF tankers the only 'dicey situations' I encountered were due to others not sticking to the ACO.
ATP-56B doctrine is quite clear about the risk exposure to tankers. I agree that manoeuvre requirements are irrelevant, so view the Boeing statement
Boeing's flight control design gives the pilot unrestricted access to the full flight envelope that may be necessary in a threat environment
as irrelevant. Of course the A330 offers the same access, but has the benefit of preventing the pilot from going outside the full flight envelope.
Flight Detent, apart from sniping on the sidelines, what positive contribution if any do you actually have to make to this thread?