Crab,
COMO fleets only tend to be an option where the capability offered is a military one (pilot training, AAR, AT etc.) I'm afraid the provision of SAR doesn't fall into this bracket. The MOD want rid of SAR because, lets be honest, it has evolved into such a highly specialised and very much civilian-orientated entity that it offers very little militarily (aside from recovery of ejectees, something which I am sure civvy crews are more than capable of). In my opinion the SAR force has become a victim of it's own success in that it is very good at what it does but little else. This is more applicable to the RAF than the Navy as they tend to bounce crews back to other Operational fleets more often.
I think you have to take a more pragmatic and less cynical view of the two fleet option. It makes sense on a lot of levels and offers flexibility as well as an element of economy (an inescapable fact of life these days). How often is the Sea King utilised to it's full capability? Also, there have been numerous fleet groundings in recent years, surely it's a good thing for the public to have greater odds of not being compromised by one in the future?
Last edited by llamaman; 5th Dec 2012 at 14:46.