Grotty,
Was the procedure officially endorsed in local docs and its conditions clearly explained?
er, no I don't think so. The guys and gals provided it as a 'courtesy' service, more 'traffic advisory' than anything else.
If not, ask yourself this: if a helo were unfortunate enough to hit the mountainside, how much support would your TG12 get if it was announced that s/he had no licence to 'control' the aircraft?
Hmm. Based on Spot's experience, and the fact that TG12 were JNCO or airmen rank - I dread to think what the RAF would have done had such a tragedy happened.
