F21L
Afraid I'm going to join in with those who thoroughly enjoyed my time as NCA.
I was lucky enough to make the break from the ASW game into SAR some years ago (like many others) and had a wonderful 8 years on yellow helicopters. The job was extremely rewarding (and still is) and the odd trip to the Falklands and working over Christmas were small stresses that didn't affect my enjoyment of the job. The UK SAR Force (RAF and RN) is the best in the world and over the next few years will be recruiting quite hard - if you can get selected as ALM then push-on. You could do a lot worse than work as a SAR Boy. BEWARE - If you are offered an ALM slot you could go to SH. These boys have really had the rough end of the deal over the last 10 - 15 years and are understandably p****d off at the moment. But again you should understand that the Loadie's job on SH is a rewarding and extremely demanding role that would offer a great deal of job satisfaction.
Bottom line - talk to as many NCA as you can, try and arrange a visit to Odiham, Lyneham and one of the SAR Flts, then make your decision. Rotary flying is great fun - don't be put-off.
Arctic