As for tempting people out of the military, they don't pay enough and you will almost certainly end up in the locations no-one else wants.
Many thanks for your replies. Is the pay differential that significant? It seems a shame that in the future the only option to get into the rear of a SAR cab will be via a university degree but I suppose it's the way that every profession is going these days. Good luck to whoever gets selected for the winch operator jobs in Sumburgh and Stornoway. It would be interesting to hear what sort of background they had.