It could be argued that getting rid of SAR, and presumably placing at risk any CSAR competence we have, could be seen as a very public expression of the Government’s long held attitude toward servicemen. That is, up yours, we don’t give a **** about our duty of care, the so called military covenant or any notion you may hold that we could care less about you. You are expendable – all we’ve done is moved the goalposts a little to emphasise the point.
Putting it another way, I wonder what the American public would say if their Government so publicly reneged on their obligation never to leave a man behind. I know this isn’t exactly what the Government have done, but it’s a bloody long step.