You’re missing the point. Military pilots fly in the exact conditions (busted up antiquated aircraft, horrendous weather at night, fuel guzzling, maintenance problems, surviving, etc) you described as being 1000% more relevant to an airline than ANYTHING the military has to offer. Military pilots fly in those same EXACT conditions from point A to point B, but add in the stress of a mission enroute and then landings and approaches at constantly unfamiliar fields in foreign countries. Also add in a wingman (or 3) whose problems also become your own. They are managing emergencies in multiple cockpits and making decisions for multiple aircraft at once. You would think an airline would want to hire someone who can do all of that safely, just as they should want to hire you.

I’m not saying that night cargo pilots aren’t suited for the majors. They are. But so are military pilots. Just because they haven’t logged 10,000 hours with a regional doesn’t mean they don’t have the skills and experience necessary to succeed at a major airline. 1000 hours at 3 hours each leg is much different than 1000 hours at .9 each.