You nearly had me there; it all sounded pretty good until you spoilt it all by saying:
recognition that fundamentally JHC is a positive example of jointery that is being eroded by this ongoing challenge to Merlin transition.
At which point I question what planet you are living on. One is led to understand that the single service opinion of JHC is low enough to justify staffing its disbandment and the return of the RAF SH to Air Command. This thread does much to support that theory as a 'need' asap.
So are we about to find out why no SH front or rear crew appeared in the second and final round of the RAF redundancy process despite expectation by many if not all to the contrary.