Been in both places and for what it's worth, here is my view. From the airline point of view, 15 years ago I would have said that the tosser/ace ratio was the same in airlines and the service, but nowadays, a lot of airline pilots just have not had the sheer handling training and experience of a service pilot, nor have they got the command experience or had the chance to scare themseves fartless. I also know a lot of private pilots with quite a few hours, a lot of command time and extras like aero comps, that could hold their own against most service pilots, so I would be of the opinion that the raw material is not much different service/civilian, but the RAF training counts for a lot. Mind, I have been told by several Aussie pilots that they are the best in the world.