Lovegroove:"What I can't understand, is that I know that permanent staff at places I've worked at have somehow managed to get licenced and I know that they only worked on military aircraft. How is that possible? "
It depends on WHEN they got their Licences:
I got my first CAA A&C LWTR in 1989 whilst still in the RAF and having worked mainly on military aircraft (though, admittedly, I did some civil aircraft work too) I continued to collect LWTRs for some years till I left the RAF in 1999.
In BCAR days it was a requirement to show the ATA Chapters you worked on and not necessarily to what "Spec" you met. BCAR Section L Issues 4 to 8 differed quite a bit!
On the implementation of JAR & EASA it was a simple case of Grandfather Rights to convert to JAR 66 and then Part 66.
Dont get frustrated by other peoples qualifications...just sort out your own.
They all take time, patience and tenacity.
Best of luck.