Hi Crab,
Bad news i'am afraid, OHHHHHH how they LOVE yes men, the truth is often ignored, and yes they are that petty!!
Many worries you have are spot on, having said that, the professionalism amoungst the coalface workers is equal to any military unit ( after all 70% of the crews in most civ bases are ex mil), and the them and us Civ v Mil debate is almost non existant, its a job we do to the best of our ability, with the kit supplied with at the time, thankfully, we all appear to get the same results at the end of the day
I for one would not give a damn as to what colour, type, or mil/civ rescue helicopter , that would come to my aid if in trouble.
Compared to many other parts of the world, we are very lucky to have this excellent service around the British isles and Ireland. Lets just hope it stays that way.