You can but you'll need to get current. Very few know the numbers but the generally accepted min is 100 hrs in the last year. I doubt you'll get a peep from any major if you haven't flown at all in that long.

FWIW I asked this specific question. Here is the response from the hiring folks at a major airline:


"Recency of experience is important. With a pool of over 12,000 qualified candidates, we are able to be fairly picky about who we are selecting for interviews. While leadership roles in the military are certainly beneficial to an applicants overall appeal, we are hiring pilots. Many military pilots are making a stop at a regional as they wait for the majors to ramp up hirining. While not required, it does add value overall as we know that the applicant is familiar with part 121 flying, reserve, and the domestic airspace system which can be quite different, especially for a single seat guy.

Stick and rudder skills are a perishible commodity. We have imperical data from our own furlough returns showing us that pilots who have been out of the cockpit for an extended period of time are more likely to have problems in training than those who have remained current."