TC ( and you Syd !!) .......there is an awful lot that you say that I agree with but what I don't agree with is your method of imparting that knowledge . Your method is to firstly play the military card . ( I have loads of mil pilot friends . Some are useless in the civvy world , some are excellent and I have employed quite a few over the years . On balance I don't see any difference in their ability .) .
Next you try to humiliate people with your view of their lack of knowledge and get personal ...( that's fine with me ...I own my own helicopters and employ people like you and enjoy the banter . Others I fear just get frightened off so are no longer around to pick up your valuable advice )
There are so many gotchas out there ,I think we should concentrate on the big ones ....flying in poor viz leading to CFIT , spacial disorientation , LTE , vortex ring to name a few , these are the things that kill people . I am sorry but flying at 20-30 ft every now and then in an appropriate place is fun , ... We all do it . Every mil pilot I have flown with does it ! I'm not aware that it is inherently dangerous , especially if you know the ground re wires . I am not aware of any crashes involving engine failure while flying at low level . Equally doing a power check on every single approach to hover or land just doesn't happen in the real world ....we all look at our power settings during climb out as standard .
So just pick the things that matter and get people engaged , rather than enraged !! Nite Nite