Dervish - if you want to see it that way in order to "prove" a point then i can't stop you.
However, i can't see that the ageing UK Seaking fleet has any real contribution towards CSAR (i suppose one could argue that MPA is CSAR but it's a stretch) and withdrawing it would in no way prevent the development - or continued development of CSAR with the Merlin or Chinook fleet (it could as easily be argued that it might enhance it by potentially freeing up MOD resources for CSAR development).
As for duty of care - Have a look at what is going on in Afghanistan with the MERT / Chinook combination alongside the state of the art medical facilities at Bastion etc and tell me that there is not a commitment to or investment in duty of care.
Civvy SAR and CSAR are different specialities - end-of.
OH
Last edited by OvertHawk; 3rd Dec 2011 at 16:09.
Reason: just notice my response coincided with Tourist - bit alarmed that we agree on something!