As usual with me Brit answer….
The guys who fly C130s for the RAF don’t just fly “cargo”. They do low level inserts for the SAS etc.
During the Falklands war when the threat of exocets were extreme there was a plan for a couple of RAF C130s full of special forces to pretend to be Argentine ones, declare an in flight emergency, divert to the Super Entandards base in S.Argentina, unload the SAS landrovers and trash the airbase. Fortunately “operation certain death for 100 guys” was cancelled but the pilots who’d do it would need balls that clang!
Plus a lot of the pilots who fly our “heavies” started on fighters and fighter bombers. Staying fit enough to handle 8G in your 40s isn’t easy and when the choice is “desk job”, leave the RAF and fly 737s for Ryanair or “fly C130s into Afghanistan” sometimes the C130 option appeals. The C130 pilot could have 20 years experience in Harriers or Tornadoes.