COWPAT,
I agree with you when you suggest that there is a level of ignorance by many Americans about life outside their own sheltered world that serves to reinforce the seemingly wholesale dislike of yanks in general.
Just like you, I know many American pilot friends and have to say that they are not a bad bunch when you get to know them.
I also know that SOME ex military aviators and not necessarily Americans, can be rather critical of the way their civilian counterparts operate.
In all honesty I have seen first hand how certain military egos can get in the way of sound and sensible operating procedures.
Thats not to say that this problem does not afflict certain civilian types either!
So I suspect that what we are really discussing here is more a problem with individual personalities as opposed to nationalities.
Funny about that,I was under the impression that the various psychological tests that airlines blindly rely on, were designed to weed these characters out!
[This message has been edited by Tommy Turbine (edited 05 April 2001).]