Cantsay
You're right swarfega creates too much froth. KY jelly or vaseline might be better - can you advise?
Tempsford
Back to your original question. Looking at your profile, I'll answer that engineers do not go into civvy aviation because the outlay is not worth the financial return, and the skills transferance is negligible.
In general, the after service career depends on the individuals own situation and approach to risk. A proportion at 55 will go straight into the civil service or perhaps QinetiQ, often the same job but with less pay, and the pension maintains the lifestyle. Many go straight into the defence industry, their project management background being directly transferable. Some go into consultancy, either as an employee or in business on their own account and will often drift away from pure defence as experience in things like safety cases etc are now going into the rail, nuclear, health industries or anywhere there is a chance of being sued. IMHO, the 2nd move tends to be the most significant, as the first just proves to you that you can survive the transition to civvy life.