DB - you highlighted the poor training of radar set up and usage in your industry - it had to come from somewhere and O&G are the ones who pioneered ARAs.
MilSAR had a dedicated radar operator who has been replaced, in the O&G format, by the co-pilot in CivSAR, this is not points-scoring, this is highlighting cheap practices adopted into roles that need dedicated expertise.
I don't think this is a matter of being cheap, it looks like a matter of inexperience in the SAR world. The CivSAR machine in question appears to have had both the staff and the equipment to operate as you suggest, but it looks like the operator lacked the experience to put those tools to good use, and the crew were not adequately prepared to deal with their input.