done both
I started out in the US Army flying Hawks and later moved to the civilian world and now fly EMS.
This is a complicated issue and I don't want to insult anyone so take my comments as generalizations.
Looking honestly at helicopter training prior to the nineties in the US, there were problems. Most pilots who were training to become a professional were not afforded the tools necessary to make the transition. The "schools" were under equipped and the instructors came mostly from the military. They could teach you how to stir the soup but the intricacies of instruments, FAR's etc were very weak. Very quickly though, professional schools were developed for helicopter training and today there are many that equal or better the military training. They have very professional instructors, simulators, a very well thought out syllabus and the training is geared toward graduates entering the profession.
As for military pilots, I have long ago put away my arrogance about the "difficulty of missions" when comparing what I do now to what I did then. My flights in the EMS world are sometimes much more complicated and challenging than anything I ever did in the army. They require much more planning, risk assessment and safety considerations. Military pilots have the great advantage of having two pilots in the cockpit. The missions I flew in the army were rarely single ship so I had 2,4,6,8 other pilots working on, planning, considering and ensuring the success of the mission. Of course, not so in EMS. It is me, alone, completely and individually making all of the decisions. That is a skill that is not quickly or easily transferred from military to civilian flying. in my current location I am flying over mountains, deserts and the temperature can literally change from 20 degrees to 90 degrees during a one hour flight. Of course goggles 50 -60 percent of the time. I am not looking for sympathy or kudos. It's what I do and I enjoy the challenge.
What I used to tell people that wanted to compare mil versus civ pilots was the only distinction is that military trained helicopter pilots were the "best trained" helo pilots in the business. Notice I did not say the best pilots, simply the best trained. I can no longer say that after visiting several training facilities that are top notch, state of the art, professional pilot training centers.
I now work with many young civilian trained professional pilots and they are absolutely top of the line pros. Extremely competent technicians, knowledgeable of rules and regs, understanders of risk and damn good decision makers. I would happily my family in an aircraft with them.
In the end, it is the individual. The experience gained in the civilian world is priceless and I would say more valuable to the civilian professional market than a lot of military flying. I flew in the military for ten years and a lot of my flying was day VFR with no passengers on board. Power was never an issue. I had lots of help planning. Yes, its was great and I loved it but by no means would I ever say that I was any better than the great young men and women of today who train civilian and get there hours in a very challenging environment called real life. You know, I never wondered about my next meal, where I would live or sleep and my uniforms were all provided, Plus they paid me pretty damn good for a young, wet behind the ears newbie WOJ.
Cheers