Hello

Can you please tell be a) How many soldiers aged i) under 18 and ii) 18 or over, joined the army in each of the financial years 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09; and b) For each year, how many soldiers in each age group had left the army ten years afterwards, and how many of those who remained were in each rank.

Thank you

David Gee

Dear Army Sec-Group (MULTIUSER),

Thank you very much for this full answer to my question. It was a tricky question so I really appreciate the time that you have had to put in.

I've processed the data now. It shows that, over the three year enlistment period, soldiers who enlisted aged under 18 were less likely than adult recruits to still be in the army after ten years. If they had not yet left, they were also less likely to have achieved a higher rank (Sergeant or above) and less likely to have begun LE officer training.

Adult recruits who were still in the army after ten years were actually twice as likely as younger recruits to have achieved a higher rank (Sergeant or above).

On the evidence of this three-year period, therefore, and using the ten-year point as a measure (which corresponds approximately with an average army career length across the age range), adult recruits are easier to retain and tend to be promoted more quickly than those who enlist under the age of 18.

If you would like to see the workings, with graphs, please let me know and I will be happy to send it to you.

Thanks again for your time to process my request.

Yours sincerely,

David Gee