Great in theory, but if a truck gets broken down, lost, or in an accident, you are now short a truck. How this is relevant to trimming to the bare minimum needed people needed, which, in theory is not a bad thing budgetary-wise, (but can be bad if your assumptions/calculations are wrong) but the first time the actual attrition through retirement, resignations, or guys getting out for the airlines (least likely it seems lately) are noticeably higher than forecast, then it starts becoming a "3.0 for CO", not in actuality but in the tongue in cheek way that some T-notchers joked about. But yes, becomes more of a last man standing than it is at the moment.
It's still pretty competitive to get to the CO spot. There's only so many spots (per community) and it's rare that there aren't at least as many #1 DHs as there are squadrons that need a PXO. If you lose one or two along the way (which certainly happens), there's an "alternate" list of some form or another that exists, despite what "they" tell you.
The flight hours was a concern some guys had when I was HSL JO. I have two friends who are now HSL/M OICs that had under 700 hours in the B when they started the CAT 3/2 RAG Syllabus for their OIC tours. I know they are not the only ones walking back in, now being "in charge" (more so than a non-det squadron DH) and have barely more flight time than the average guy coming off his 2P cruise did at one point.
But at the point where they are now, they've already been selected for DH, so the flight hour concern (as far as career progression goes) was/is moot. Now if that flight hour concern handicaps them at their OIC/DH job is certainly a possibility and I agree they were done a disservice.