Our military aviators are leaving to go to civilian flying jobs at an amazing rate.
I am a member of a couple of groups on Facebook that are focused upon that situation.
My main group is Army Warrant Officer oriented.....and the news seen there is not promising for the US Army.
Service in the US Military has imposed a real hardship on those who serve...multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, assignments to Korea, short deployments to other parts of the World, along with temporary deployments for training within the USA.
The pay and benefits in Commercial Aviation are exceeding that of the Military....and offer far more stability and fewer re-locations.
Throw in the shortage of pilots at the Air Carriers.....no wonder we have good people leaving well short of military retirement to go fly for the airlines.
The point of my post was to point out how the FAA considers Military Aviation experience (training, check rides, flight hours, etc) as compared to what the British CAA does for the British Military Pilots.
The FAA is far more accommodating.....thus making the transition from being a Military Pilot to being a civilian licensed pilot much easier and far less time consuming and costly financially.
That facilitates our guys and girls leaving the military and going to the airlines.
The other point that needs considering is the fact it is the individual pilot who is able to take their military records to the FAA and be able to document the training and flight experience as the basis for the issuance of a civilian rating/license with no requirement to actually undergo FAA administered Flight Checks as the FAA honors the Military Check rides and Flight Training.