In reply to other posters.
There is a significant and increasingly Joint presence with the USN.
The point about JHC is interesting, mainly because JHC does of course contain the CHF, a bunch of SH chaps who specialise in amphibious ops. Their existence could be used as a foil to the notion of the independent air force.
The parallels with JFH and 360 squadron are interesting too. With the exception of a single light blue squadron OC, JFH was awesome at the working level. Above that it wasn't much short of an disaster and despite attempts by command to keep high level (well puerile and childish actually) politics from effecting day-to-day work, well....they did.
Let's have flexible forces? Couldn't agree more. Joint forces? Don't believe in them anymore myself. So which would you rather have and which is safer to assure? Maritime specialists who occasionally turn the anti skid on and operate from land or land based chaps who occasionally go to the boat? Why not copy JHC exactly and have the FAA FW as a self governing entity?
Last point. The success of RAF Harrier crews in Corporate and subsequently right through to GR9 retirement (and lets add in all the RN sons of Herrick with pitifully few Deck Landings here) is unchallenged. This was only possible, however, because the inexperienced were able to 'plug in' to the socket of experience that was available (and still is in glowing ember form in the USN). As has been noted elsewhere the inexperienced did a great job - but let's be careful about what could be viewed as a 'standing start', but wasn't.