Crab,
Professional performance and attitude is what the job calls for....without any single uniform colour being designated. Likewise, the Military guys and gals need to remember they are LEAVING one home for another and must be happy with the colour of the curtains until they have been in place long enough to get their feet under the table.
As in so many other things in helicopter flying....there is sometimes more than a single right answer to a question....and that is what has to be accepted by the newcomer. If there is a better way to do something then that can be worked out over time.
As the goal for all is to aid folks in distress....that should make it a lot easier to find the common ground without folks staking claim to having the only answer. As the Bristow SAR Operation has historically drawn from the Military...things should not be all that different where it matters....in the Air.
Admin policies and other mundane stuff will be different but the standards will not be. There definitely shall be a new set of "Bosses" to answer to with different personalities than one might be used to dealing with....for sure the system works much differently.
One thing that has not been discussed is what happens if Bristow splits off the SAR Operation into its own Business Unit and thus separates the SAR from the Offshore Business. That would make for a much easier way of transitioning Military SAR Qualified Crews into the Civilian SAR Structure.
PHI in the USA did that very thing with its EMS Operation as the Offshore and EMS work was so different both Operationally and Administratively.
If I were the Mandarin in Charge....that is what I would do.
Anyone want to make a wager how long it takes for that to happen?