EMB,
I have trouble believing civilian pilots are the minority, but I don't have have any data on this point. If you are running into a lot of military folks during IOE, my guess is they were not military pilots (helo maybe), otherwise they would, more than likely, have gone to a major (up until recently of course). I don't want a mil vs. civ flamefest here.
Like you said, someone who talks about controlling the LCC's is clueless to life. In a free market, you have to evolve. Remember Montgomery Ward? It's a little known fact that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was created by them in an ad campaign many moons ago. They didn't evolve, and closed their doors shortly before Christmas a few years back. The list of airlines that didn't evolve is long. This evolution requires a team effort between labor and mgmt. Until this happens it will be rocky.
Time to fix dinner.
See