Yes, it's my opinion. However, I have a WHOLE lot of time over at the schoolhouse and being in close contact with the higher ups in the Envoy Training Dept and have personally seen these guys perform. Sure, some of them do OK but a large percentage struggle and are given a lot of leeway to get through training AND OE. On the other hand, cadets are already trained and they really excel in the schoolhouse and as a rule, are a step up from the RTP guys in more ways than one. THIS is only a general observation and MANY of the people above who I mentioned are in agreement with me.
I’m intentionally wasting my time if for anything, to point some things out to newbies reading this who might have the myopic view you have.
ALL military pilots face difficulties in 121 training. Cargo, pointy nose, rotor… it doesn’t matter. Airlines aren’t giving them jobs and reduced minimums because they are going to rock through training without a hiccup. They are hiring, on average, a known product that has a historically high success rate, a person with demonstrated good work ethic, and a person with a quantifiable track record of succeeding in very difficult training. They aren’t hiring a trainee, they are hiring a future captain who has a foundation in critical decision making skills… skills that colleges can’t provide.
As many people have mentioned here and other forums you’ve been banned from, operationally, a military pilot and a college pilot are essentially the same operationally once they hit the line. Their procedural and regulatory knowledge aren’t different from each other and they both fly the plane the same. The difference, on average, is very long term.
Poeple at airlines with big jobs… jobs that are just a touch more involved than “involved at the school house” and “in contact with higher-ups,” are strategic thinkers who are looking at the 1000 meter target whereas you are laser focused on the 25 meter target.
None of the above is intended in any way to denigrate or belittle civilian trained pilots. What I’m talking is big numbers over a long term span as it relates to reliability and career success. Aside from a couple outliers, every pilot I’ve flown with at 121s have been good.