My last employer employed a few ex Army guys and before we knew it we were swamped with them, the first one in got his mate a job etc etc. HR were having these guys pushed on them from above. Apparently doing a tour in Afghan makes you the ideal candidate for working offshore. The majority were pretty good, however there were more than a few where getting them to do the minimum was a major achievement. Trying to get them to speak to you at handover was almost impossible, they just grabbed their stuff and left. They were more interested in posing round the rig in their combats and army t-shirts trying to impress the stewardesses or posing in the gym. I came on shift one night to find no one present to give me a handover, he had decided to knock off early and go to the gym leaving alarm systems unmanned. One lad was so inept he was busted down to the lowest paid job on the rig, the guy who had got him his initial job left the company and got his mate a start at his new company in his intial offshore role. Pretty soon he was found out there and was busted down again. How he got taken on in a role requiring any responsibility baffled everyone who met him. He would have struggled to hit water if he threw himself off the rig.
Serving in the military is no guarantee of competence, the seemingly common view that all ex service guys are a notch above just doesnt wash. I am ex services myself and would say it's a 60/40 split, based on my own experience I hasten to add, with the odds favouring a solid performer. I met plenty of brain donors when I was in, did they all turn to geniuses when they hit Civvy St ?? .. hardly.