Calm down guys. I was merely asking a perfectly reasonable question, which was first posed by another poster and subsequently discussed by others. Re-read my post and you will see that I'm a fan of the Armed Forces, especially their pilots, some of whom are friends of mine. As I said, they deserve all the luck they can get.
I take the point about discrimination of this sort being lawful. I think that is correct. I was referring to fairness in a general sense. You see, as a big fan of the doctrine of meritocracy (rather than politically correct quota systems), I just want everyone to have the same opportunities.
Good luck to all the applicants.
PS:
@MCDU2: Has it ever occurred to you that most people who pay for their Type Ratings do so from funds they've earned and saved or have to take out loans which they pay from their income. The notion that they're all undeserving rich kids is a myth.