Tourist ... I simply can't let that go...
I think you are mixing up your own MoD focused thoughts on the value of simple SAR against all those continuing demands for expenditure on purely combat focused ( which these days means overseas) capability. Whether it's wise to have chopped back so much on UK area capabilities as a result is another argument for another thread.
Yes, I agree with you in principle, and I have mentioned in the previous SAR-H thread, much to several regular contributors ire, many of the missions flown by UK SAR helos, of any operator, cannot be objectively described as essential life saving operations. Often they help relieve suffering or potential risk by getting to the casualty earlier than other already available rescuers, be it the RNLI, MRTs, police etc etc, or these days the Police air service and Air Ambulances.
We all know that their original ( duty of care) responsibility as an essential rescuer of military aircrew has long been diminished by a much smaller and much safer military aviation community, and the modern expansion of the other rescue methods mentioned above. Think of UK infrastructure in the 1950s and that of today.
That said, there are some missions where the helicopter is either essential in bringing timely rescue to an otherwise inaccessible location, or makes an
essential contribution to that activity. Often these can be in difficult weather and other demanding conditions ( exploding rigs spring to mind). They may not occur very often, but the nation has come to expect, and now rightly assumes that this modern capability is there, and well trained to do so, at minimum risk to all involved, not least the helicopter crews themselves. You
know as well as I that this is one of the main bonuses of crews flying on and therefore having additional training opportunities in all those other " jobs" where the otherwise lack of a helicopter would not be fatal. As a result, the UK helicopter rescue services as a whole can be proud of our safety record over many decades... It is exceptional by any standard. Some of those standards are down to the rigorous application of the rules during training by excellent IREs and QHIs, the imbuing in all new SAR crews our corporate experience, and yes, ensuring SAR captains along with their crews, are trained to know when it is right occasionally to make decisions, being appreciative of the balance of risks, that are on the boundaries of or potentially exceeding those otherwise sound rules.
It's not a question of who operates the service, we now know the destiny of that in this country, but of international and national obligations that the UK must fulfil by treaty and law. To suggest that these could be swept away as of no fundamental value to a modern and first world country like ours is simply being irresponsible, even if some of the hype over potential relocation, particularly at local political level, is well overdone. Indeed that's the irony... Too many successful local rescues where the helicopter was not often essential yet persuading the many that they are an indispensable local service.
Fortunately, a solution of some sort, that will provide a modern and nationwide service is still on it's way despite massive cuts in other areas of national expenditure ( so far anyway!) - so let us all be grateful for that.
Cheers
