1771 DELETE
Retention causes issues all of its own if you don’t keep a healthy churn going through. You end up with Dad’s/Mum’s Army with Cpl Jones everywhere. You also end up with too few with the reach to make Flt Cdr, Sqn Cdr p, Stn Cdr/CAW, Force Cdr, AOCs, DCOM Ops and potentially CAS/CDS. Therefore, only
some retention is required and you can’t keep all or you end up with different challenges. Typically 30-40% of any workforce needs to keep moving up, 30-40% can leave and 30-40% can stagnate in retention. Those rates can vary a little, but if you retain say 60% of your workforce at the same rank - FS/MAcr/Flt Lt - then you bedblock the progress of the rest, then they leave due to a lack of advancement. So, retention is not the total answer. Even then, you must retain only those that you really need if they want to stay put.
But I agree, Mission Aircrew (WSO/WSOp) are just as important as the Pilots. Also, Engineers more than any other Branch/Profession/Trade are needed in support of the Aircrew and their aircraft. If those 2 fall over then you aren’t going anywhere!