N - you might be in for a shock when Harmony guidelines are "tri-serviced"...
Don't see a problem. Unless you drastically reduce numbers and increase Op deployments there will always be more personnel to deploy than areas to deploy to. You can't reduce personnel by much as you cannot predict which fleet is will need to deploy and for what. Cross pollination to meet surge has its airworthiness issues. Anyway they are 'guidlines' rather than targets.
Well 4000-odd of you are now going to take up from where the FAA left off
Eh what are you on about. we are talking about a fleet of 25 cabs with maintainers. Not even the crabs need 4000 to do that.
Re' deployed time away and harmony. I've done a poll on 84X and the most I've found is 160 days in 365 inc PDT and dets. After 2 to 3 years most will rotate through 2nd line billets either in what workshops are left or on the training sqn where the pace is slightly less intensive. The RAF SH are doing about the same but without rotation.
I really don't give a flying big 'F' who ends up with Merlin, but most of whats being said on here bears very little resemblence to what I see here day on day here at Vl. Please lets remain factual rather than emmotive as for the reason why the transfer should take place.