Frazzled - the word on the fast jet deployment was from the mouth of a Navy Lieutenant that sat on the OSB who was trying to convert the candidates from RAAF to the other two services. The C-130's, C-17's and P-3's have all been quite active but our fast jets haven't been deployed in to an environment which has seen them engage enemy aircraft or have the intent to since, from what I can gather, Korea. Of course if you're flying as apart of the RAAF's air lift and air transport wings you're going to see quite a bit of real action as opposed to the training action you'd likely be involved with for the majority of (if not all of) your career as a FJ pilot, unless of course WWIII breaks out in the next two decades.
Our Hornets might be fighters but they're equal part attack, and have been deployed in Iraq in 2003 where they involved in plenty of combat missions, Diego Garcia in 2001 too (though I can't remember what the latter involved).
As for the talk that is given at FSP, I don't think he was so much trying to "convert" people from RAAF to the other services, rather open your eyes to the the bigger picture and the possibilities the other services offer. A couple of the guys on our course only had RAAF as a preference, and after that upgraded them all to most preferred. Mission accomplished!
How'd you fare at FSP anyway, enjoy yourself?