This thread can be very informative SKD but when the questions get too difficult, the defenders of the Coastguard faith just clam up.
Do the CAA have sufficiently experienced SAR pilots and aircrewmen to fully evaluate the performance of an entire crew?
Recent and extensive experience would be an important requirement for any credible external evaluater.
This is not a difficult question to answer but there is a deafening silence.
We were told that the CAA conduct external audits of Coastguard SAR but where's the credibility in that if the people doing the checking aren't experienced SAR personnel who can evaluate the capabilities of both pilots and aircrewmen?
I'd like to think that the CAA's team is capable of evaluating all aspects of SAR but no-one will answer the question. From this we have to assume that the answer is that they aren't and this may well remain the case when military SAR is no more. A service to the public will be being run for profit by a private company without a credible external audit to assess its flying capability.