Eval,
I hear what you are saying, but....
Why bother with a new cockpit when it already has a perfectly good one for its SH role. Would the money not be better spent buying new than just ship optimising a slack handful of the fleet so that it can look good on a 'procedure alpha'. Because without better engines, tail rotor and gearbox that is all it will ever be good at.
As for time at sea, I agree with you and didn't sign up for it either. However, suggesting that the mk3 force somehow stood in front of the 2 star and said that they wouldn't go to sea is utter tosh.