camel,
My point was/is as follows. You say there are two rearcrew jobs on the P-8 currently being done by officers, presumably by the Americans and RAF seedcorn. Given that the RAF had stopped recruiting WSOs, no longer have an RAF WSO training system, and there will be very limited career opportunities for any future WSOs, possibly impacting on recruitment and retention, why do we have to put officers into those seats just because the Americans do and we used to in the Nimrod? We used to have NCOs in every position in Liberators, Catalinas, Sunderlands and presumably Shackeltons.
Why not use WSOps who have progressed within the P-8 from having been sensor operators, in the same why that they used to progress from 4th, 3rd, 2nd to lead? This gives career progression and diversification for WSOps, and allows for recruitment and training through a WSOp system that actually exists (albeit in greatly reduced form at the moment).
You've also just admitted that Reaper etc work equally well for WSO or WSOp. So, as you say, with the eventual demise of the GR4, we would be recruiting WSOs out of necessity purely for the P-8, with the option, but not necessity, of filling some other roles.