A larger force retains careers as well as equipment

More ships and formations create employment and promotion opportunities that can make a service career worth continuing. Dr. Clarke recalls conversations with senior Royal Navy and Army officers who left after the Falklands War and were asked to return about a year later. Their services still could not guarantee long-term employment, while the officers had begun civilian careers and would have had to move their families again. None of those officers accepted, leaving the services to find other ways to recover their experience. Similar calculations can encourage personnel to leave around thirty, when starting another career appears easier than waiting until thirty-five or forty. Force size therefore affects retention through credible career prospects.