They won't hire those of us that spent years flying on-demand 135 in busted-up, antiquated, fuel-guzzling turbojets with dozens of deferral stickers, through horrendous wx in the dark, either (SWA is a notable exception); simply SURVIVING that (some colleagues did not), whilst passing sim checkrides every six months, avoiding getting violated, and learning when to PUSH BACK on matters of fuel, wx, and mx are 1000% more "relevant" in comparison to ANYTHING the military has to offer airlines. I don't care what the job was.

That's NOT to say military aviation experience isn't useful--it's simply that "complete the mission because lives are at stake" doesn't translate to operating Part 25 aircraft (in an air carrier capacity) in any MEANINGFUL way (requiring preferential notice) in the sorting of applicants. It just doesn't. It *never* did.

All else is sanctimony and obfuscation.

Maybe the classic, fanatical airline preference for military has more to do with hiring future MANAGEMENT; officers are well trained for management roles (and a great many are rather unsympathetic to union concerns by DEFAULT)...there's no denying that.