I don't see any pilot flying through serious visible volcanic ash, but of the micro non visible stuff that will most likely just ruin the blades after a few hundred trips...
So be it...if the powers that be want to ruin some engines....who am I to tell them they are wrong....
This thread is less about volcanic ash and more about capts arguing where thier authority starts and ends...
I don't intend this to be a cheap shot, but airlines that hire 250 hour marshmellows to sit right seat, probably have about the same confidence in the left seaters to make a decision.