I completely agree with Halin - the dudes that set-up our etops program did not come from "the squadron", and imo - they got it right. I've been around almost 3 decades and can attest firsthand to some of the stupid things we've done. This isn't one of them. The training was great and the several crossings I've done were, procedurally very clean and straightforward.

It amazes me how many mainline aircraft (UA/DL) are out there making HF position reports still.