"Whatever, it will take 3-5 years to re-establish an operational capability from the go date"
Norway, Canada and Germany operate quite well with around 5 crews.
With the guys that escaped the Kipper Fleet Cull flying in other fleets still around and the Seedcorners I believe we can achieve a similar capability within 2 years of starting the first course as long as we utilise / Augment our allied OCUs .( The decision has to be made soon) I agree 3-5 years is right for your 8-12 scenario with a home based OCU but IOC should not be based on this.