While the CAA might not think much of military experience in respect of dispensations towards a licence, the major operators will have a different view.
We are still seeing so called engineers coming out of civil ab initio training schools with licence modules completed who can't tell a spanner from a toilet brush.
The training and experience you get in the services army, navy or airforce cannot be bettered even in these austere times.
If I had the choice I would take the military engineer every time and support him through the licence process.