I absolutely support the Devs decision on multiple points.
Whilst I agree with the porponents of saving in mission due to lives, well, I have a job, family, etc. I only play when I have the time. It's not a lunch break game, go back to adventurequest.
I think the solution to that is a "Save and Quit" option, with no "Save and Continue". You can leave and come back, without ruining the game (As I believe it would)
In support of the current system:
The dev's did not really make the game for the players, they made it for themselves and for the players who will develop it. They do want regular players to enjoy it too of course, but it's not the main focus.
I save before each mission, I do. If I lose more than say, two people, I load, because I can't handle that much replacing, pisses me off. I still don't want to go back one turn and survive it, I feel it detracts from the game. Oh no, lost my sniper, well that makes it harder, and I'll replace him, hired a guy who's not a sniper? Well I just changed my lineup, and it's forcing me to change tactics slightly, hey, I'm learning how to play better. YAY
It's not so much ironman mode, as it is fun, more realistic consequences, with different priorities. Makes me think "Is it worth loading from before the mission?" Well I lost that one, or lost half my crew, so yes. I lost two, and they're replaceable enough, so no, I'll muscle on.
Ranks don't mean too much atm, that extra TU will help a bit, but it's probably not going mean you will survive when a rookie wont. And a rookie can have a higher, Assault skill, for example, than a soldier trained in assault, These Rookies" are the highest soldiers from armies all over the world, they're rookies within Phalanx, and at fighting aliens. Military training will help, but an army rookie would be nothing compared to the "Rookie"'s you're hiring.