Flying Lawyer, I think I'll have to take most of that one on the chin. Your points are good ones, as far as they apply to the average PPL(A). And I've seen enough of the UAS training system to know that far higher standards apply.
I'm not sure that I accept your definition of GA, though, as synonymous with PPL(A) VFR bimbling. If you add in competitive aeros, medevac/organ transplant flights, SE single pilot IFR, aerial photography, helicopter charters and a few other bits and pieces which rarely make the evening news, it's a bit more difficult and unforgiving than you imply. In fact, the question asked what civilian pilots think of military ones, and might more usefully have been asked in one of the airline forums, since what we have descended into here is the usual slanging match about standards for the average spamcan driver on a Sunday afternoon.
And I don't at all accept that most people capable of driving a car are capable of getting a PPL. Yes, they could handle the aircraft. But the written exams and navigation are another ballgame.
And I utterly resent the implication that I use my PPL to pose to impressionable teenagers, by the way. On the contrary, it enables me to teach the cadet syllabus from a position of knowledge and understanding, rather than the rumour and second-hand misconceptions prevalent in most cadet units.
Tim
(PS if I walked the strip at my 'home' base I'd be arrested in seconds!)