Crikey moses I feel faint....... I've found myself agreeing with Tourist twice in as many minutes........
We've commited to F35C, and cat and trap. It is imperative to gain and sustain a suitably size pool of knowledge and experience of what is one of the hardest disciplines in Fixed Wing aviation.
The guys over with the USN won't necessarily be just line pilots, but staff the ship as well in the Airboss role etc.
Good work by the FAA to sort this in challenging times.
I do wonder about the validity of FWS in the current financial climate though.....