I was at Whidbey NAS Airshow today, and spent some time sitting in the left seat of a few large aircraft, C-5B, C-17, a Herc, and I was wondering what license these pilots would hold, and how do they relate to the civilian world? If you had a certain number of hours in a C-5, would that equal an ATP? What type of license would a fighter jock have, and depending on his hours, what would the civilian equivilant be? I know there's more to it then that, but I'm curious. I'm thinking too much, must be that thin air waaaaay up there on the C-5 flight deck.

Well, US military pilots do not earn FAA equivalent licenses from the military, but I believe that they can usually get some minimum evaluation and then get checked out by an FAA examiner as long as they meet the minimum requirements and get the FAA license.

Many military pilots do test for and carry FAA ratings, from single engine center line to multi-engine, as well as there engineer ticket.

A US military pilot on active status can get a commercial license and instrument rating by taking a written test. An ATP requires the same checkride as a civilian does.