There has been a thread running on this issue a little while ago on a different forum, I think, but as the search facility is currently down I cannot find it.
I suppose it depends which side of the fence you are sitting on as to how you feel about this one. I have to put my hand up and say that I am from the civilian world!
However, I feel quite uncomfortable about these changes. This is not to cast aspersions on our military colleagues who, in most cases, are highly skilled.
Is it true that most of the people in the CAA Licensing Department who have had much to do with the JAR/OPS changes are ex military Flight Navigators?!
Also, at a time when there seems to be a shortage of experienced pilots for the airline world this is a political move to address this situation.
Finally, there are really no short cuts to ensuring that the people who fly the big shiny jets are fully trained and qualified for the job. If the system means that people are getting licences without the full background of knowledge which is required then this will show in the overall standard and will be yet another ingredient in the subsequent "error chain".