I am a military trained pilot who was always taught that the lookout and situational awareness is one of the most important aspect of flying. How much of your early training involved emphasis on situational awareness and looking out?
OK, Girdler, I'll answer your very first question...forgive me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anyone has so far!
I learned to fly (f/w, not rotary) with some very low hours instructors at a not particularly good flying school in the middle of nowhere in the UK. Nevertheless, when I was first doing circuits, lookout was emphasised above all else. In particular, if I was on the downwind leg and heard someone call final, I was taught not to turn base until I had identified the other aircraft and he had passed my port wing (for a left hand circuit). This sometimes meant extending downwind quite a lot if I couldn't see the other aircraft, so that was what I did...and still do, if such circumstances re-occur. Even if I only flew six hours a year or less, this is so imprinted on my brain that I think I'd remember it no matter what!
So, if my training was typical, the pilot you mention was an exception, not a typical example of civilian pilot training.
But how were the rest of you taught? Not "the others", not "the pilots of today", but YOU?