Or, playing in large time amounts is not for you... thats basically what you said and its obvious.
Someone who has other engagements wont have time for a game. Itd be the same for Far Cry 2... If you could only play for 3 hours a week, youd only be able to play it for 3 hours a week. No matter the game youd be losing out on other wordly things.
I almost get what youre saying but it still seems like youre making a deal over nothing. Sure, PR isnt a simple run and gun, die and respawn, the rounds take 2 minutes, kind of game anymore. And yeah, in your three hours in PR you wont be shooting as much as you might in CS:S, but at the same time... you could be playing CS:S for three hours and just blindly shoot away at guys who come around the same corner from the same tiny map time after time... OR you could put your three hours of vegetation time into PR and get one intense round in which you think tactically the entire time, play as a squad, etc.
Its all what you make of it. The simple fact is video games themselves arent gonna be too easy to do if you are swamped with other stuff, its not just a PR thing...
And sure, stuff in PR takes time to get used to, but how often are you learning a new kit? I have been playing as medic for pretty much since I started PR, sure I play rifleman or grenadier, or AR now and then, but Im not always having to devote 3 hours a week to learning something new

Its not THAT hard.
When Im at school I have tons of time for PR because this is where I choose to devote my time. Sure I get invited to things in RL, and I often go, but many times I turn them down as Id rather just work on something for PR or play some. It might sound like a waste to you, but that's where I want to be in the future, making games or movies based on 3d programming... Instead of just playing for 48 hours a week, I play, map, and now Im starting to learn modeling. Its a hobby just like hanging out with friends, watching movies, a sport, etc. Im sure its like this for a lot of other people[Rhino]
If you dont have time to devote to PR, then dont try learning to be a commander if its not what you want. Let the people who live and breathe PR take on those crazy multitasking roles. I dont even try at being commander. If you have the time, go for it! But if you only have three hours, then just jump into a game and play for three hours, get a good squad and just play. Dont worry about the rest of it. When you want to learn something new, go for it and it will be time well spent.
Aside from that, I dont know how else to respond.
And someone spending 1 1/2 hours testing the ammo crates is NOT what the typical player even comes CLOSE to having to do. He did that on his own and it was NOT required for decent gameplay on his end. He's more than welcome to do that, but PR does NOT require THAT much time and investigation into things, in my opinion. It shouldnt[currently] even take that long to understand deviation.