Carl.
first visit to this site and have just glanced through the topic.
I am ex-RAF and enjoy working for a civil airline.
THINK POSITIVE - You do not have 5 years experience of Tristar Airframes, you have 5 years experience of maintaining large civil aircraft. My experience of the job market is that you CV must sell yourself and you capabilities, not just what you have done.
Companies want things for nothing so make sure you CV has things they want. rember it is how you sell yourself that gets you the job. Your atitude must be I am the man for the job. They will pick up on this and it may make the difference between getting a job or just missing out.
Good Luck.