Interesting to hear from other corners of the AF about this policy. We all have our own context, which I think affects the perception of whether this change is good or bad. For example, it never occurred to me that I should factor in transit to/from a hotel into my 12 hours; I'm accustomed to living a 5 minute walk from my aircraft. There have been times weather was rolling in and the whole crew is awake sitting around looking at mission slides, and if we don't move takeoff time 45 minutes left we'll be stuck on the field while an op is happening elsewhere. Of course we asked for a crew rest waiver-- we're all feeling great and if we don't leave earlier than expected, we miss the action. I see this change as enabling those situations, but that's my context. I haven't experienced a CC pushing me to fly when I know I'm unsafe.
I guess some folks are afraid they'll be pressured into flying an extra leg when everyone is beat, or worried they won't have enough time to check in/out of the hotel. I don't have any response except: be a professional, know your limits, and speak truth to power. From my viewpoint, this change pushes authority to people with the best ground truth of a situation. If you have no faith in those people and have been previously relying on regs to protect you.... well, that sucks.