SinBin, don't get me wrong, my post was not directed at you. I couldn't be happier for you and I think you have made the right decision (not that it should matter to you what someone else thinks). As a junior FO already in short haul and unlikely to get the opportunity to move any time particularly soon, I'd say a short haul Command is a no brainer. There is just one place in BA that is worse than being a junior short haul Captain - being a junior short haul FO, so you are definitely taking a step up. My point though, is that BA short haul is not what it was and so senior FOs no longer want to take the earliest available command. It is nothing to do with any other factor than that.
The suggestion that most 5 year (and above) FOs think they'll get a long haul command within the next 5 years and so are unwilling to take the equipment freeze is totally false. Trust me, that ain't happening and we all know it. I'm 15 years in and don't anticipate a long haul command any time in the next five years - or ten years for that matter! Neither does anyone of my seniority or below who has ever spent five minutes looking at the demographics within the company.