Prior military? Seems to be the only ones they'll take at that age.

Which doesn't make that much sense as far as age is concerned. A guy in their early 50's can only fly for a dozen or so years, and will never make the big bucks that a guy in their late 20's or early 30's will make after a dozen years of service. Seems like it would be cheaper for them to hire older pilots to save on the very high salaries of pilots that will have 25-35 years of service.