What do you mean they have to start from scratch? We are talking about experience. Flying in the military in the 90s made the pilots all test pilots. Frankly, I never understood why these guys wanted to continue flying back then, but they did. Shi* was falling off of the jets and falling into the desert all the time. Yes, the military guys had to go sit for their certifications, but no one was sweating about it.
Military aircraft are not under the jurisdiction of the FAA and are considered irrelevance in civil aviation.
Thus, a pilot with impeccable service and experience needs to qualify for FAR certification.