"heroic warriors" has got nothing to do with it. it's about Professionalism, Ethics, appreciation of structures, reporting, accountability, analysing, competence, procedures etc. All of this exposure and experience that we miss out on in GA, in my humble opinion. and Respect!
Sure they may have all of the above, but have they ever put their own assets on the line. In the military there are established and well defined structures and procedures that everyone works to.
In CASA there is no established and well defined structures and procedures. They may be Volumes published but everyone, including ex-military types, operate in their own world and with their own interpretations of the publications, both internal and public. This not only exists between Canberra and the Regions, but between the Regions and even extends to between staff in the same region.
How do I know? I only had 30 years of operating in the GA sector and 20 years of direct face to face dealings with the all the regions. When one had to start asking in which Region a person was or intending to operate, things started going downhill.
I am now glad I am out of it.