I was selected for flight training in the USAF based on my grades, interaction with my ROTC cadre, and various aptitude tests and programs designed by the DoD to select candidates with a high probability of success. At no point did I get into an airplane and demonstrate an ability to fly, interact with a crew, or solve a problem. Doesn't that sound like an ab initio program?

I'm not drawing a line between SUPT and gateway 7, I'm just pointing out that ab initio isn't as foreign to many of us as we imagine it is. Guys are going kinetic in theater with 300 hours of flight time. Is that not perhaps at least a jumping off point for a discussion about guys at 1,500 acting as a F/O on a 100-seat airliner?