Request...
I've heard the same thing, and it's really sad. That's just an excuse for some poor aviating, that's all. Their job is to drop bombs AND not have a midair... not one or the other.
Anyway, my take on MOA's is that yes, they're a bit higher risk, but not something to be afraid of. After all, there are FAR more dangerous areas of airspace that we operate out of every day - they're called uncontrolled airports. Just how many midairs happen within sight of an airport vs. a MOA?
As always, heads up...
As background, I am a military pilot and this is only my personal opinion.
You make a very good point about more midairs happening in the traffic pattern than in MOAs. However, saying "they are not something to be afraid of" is a pretty bold statement. Like most things in aviation "It depends..." A better statement is that MOAs are something to respect and it helps to be a good neighbor.
When I fly civilian I don't go through an active MOA unless going around it would add about twenty minutes or more to my flight. When I fly under or over the shelf of a MOA, I will not get within about 2000 feet of the floor or 1000 feet of the ceiling. (I have been out the bottom of the MOA straight down on more than one occasion...) Some other advice I will pass is to stay well away from any MOA near a pilot training base. The TCAS works, but only if the solo student pilot has enough SA to use it... I will not bet my life on the Air Force's youngest Lieutenant.
I treat a MOA with respect because although as pilots we are supposed to be constantly clearing our flight path, the reality is something different. When the workload in a military cockpit goes up, most likely the flight lead is becoming more and more heads down. Our wingman are supposed to be providing visual lookout, but they are the wingman for a reason. Most likely they are the youngest, most inexperienced people in the squadron. If you fly through my holding area and you want to bet your life on my youngest Lieutenant, than good luck to you.
When/if I ever fly through a MOA, I do a couple of things:
First, please, please, please talk to the controlling agency and fly the proper VFR hemispheric altitude. The worst thing I can hear during a scenario is "You have VFR traffic 8 thousand, 5 miles south of your position eastbound unverified". If you are headed towards me, I have to stop the scenario set up some form of deconfliction and focus all of my attention on finding you visually (and confirm that you are not a factor) if you are going to be a factor I will have to wait you out. When I wait you out, it could mean that up to a day and a half of preparation, a lot of gas, and a lot of maintenance hours is all for nothing.
Second, if you decide to fly through a MOA, fly a straight line and remain predictable. Again tell the controlling agency your altitude, intentions, route of flight, and any other information that will help the military pilots stay out of your way or work around you. Again, any time I have to spend looking for you is time that is not spent training.
Finally, please don't fly through a MOA just because you can. If I had a restricted area to train in I would not be in a MOA. If you are going to cross through a MOA, please be a good neighbor about it.
During a training mission, I have a lot more stuff going on in my cockpit than you do. (The only people I cannot say that to might be Pierre or any of the other crop dusters out there; those guys have a set of stones...)
I look outside to the best of my ability, but even I can get task saturated. I am not sure if task saturation is a sign of "poor aviating", but it is a reality.
Blue Skies!