I wish the guys the best of luck in every way. Knowing some of them my advice is to get out there get an ATPL under their belt and sometimes more importantly with ex RAF guys a good MCC course and they will be standing in a very strong position to get a job.
But they do need to bare in mind there are a lot of equally high calibre candidates in the job market both with ATPL's and experience. If they roll from the over protected "we're the best" mentality that can breed in the RAF into civy street they may need to keep this in check.
Best of luck, good hunting!