Excellent post Vin Rouge.
We have all been made aware of the awesomeness of Harrier pilots but on the whole most military people including FJ are down to earth, humble and fit in to the civillian world very easily. I have seen both sides and the humour and banter is more or lees the same, we all moan about management and can do a better job than the CEO / CAS but at the end of the day we are goal focused and just get the job done. A wild cross windy winters day on a multi sector rush-rush short-haul operation is probably far more demanding than anything a multi engine heavy fleet (E3, P8) RAF pilot is likely to experience but clearly the skill set aptitude and sheer ability to stand the training pressure to reach the front line on a F35 / Typhoon would be beyond most Airline pilots.
As for the officer first pilot second thing, I didn't meet many who truly believed that.