Robo,
Merely stating comments you've heard from J boys will always have a biased edge to them. The J IS a good aircraft and MOST LIKELY will fill the role we are talking about, however the crew complement should change for that role.
Anyone who has ever flown knows that pilot performance is inversely proportional to information inputs, either visually or audible. I have flown on missions on the K where pilot overload was becoming noticeable due to the amount of information trying to be assimilated by the handling pilot. When you start to realise that you might have AWACS info on one radio, interplane on another, contact with the troops on yet a third radio, normal intercom usage, satcom info coming into your headset in one go, that's a large amount of traffic to prioritise and digest. The loadie WILL be down the back during an infil, or exfil and so won't be on the flight deck to help out. Throw in some audio warnings from your DAS and possibly a minor technical snag and I would have to say that flying ability WOULD SERIOUSLY be degraded!
Technically the aircraft is very good and will only get better with more upgrades, but please let's be realistic about the crew manning for the more esoteric roles. I have no preference for Eng/Nav, merely would like to see that third person there. I don't agree with it being another pilot, but another crew member whose prorities are away from up/down, left/right....! This would give a more balanced view and allow the pilots to concentrate on flying/navigating.
Times are changing and we have to move forward, but let's walk first before sprinting......