Ten years is a long time and as you've stated, it doesn't take long for skills to fade if a chap is remaining in the military but not in a SAR role. Without a common training regime delivered by instructors subject to external standardisation, a postcode lottery of styles of rescue will surely result. This may not be such a big deal for the chap being rescued but for external agencies such as RNLI and MRTs it's a big problem. They already have to put up with the RN, RAF and MCA doing things in slightly different ways. Throw in an inquest, fatal accident inquiry or similar where a lawyer uncovers the confusion caused by different operating practices and suddenly the public's faith in SAR will be severely damaged.
Last edited by Vie sans frontieres; 30th Dec 2012 at 08:16.