Originally Posted by
radar101
There had been a study which showed that the majority of applicants (all ranks) had at least one close relative who had served in the forces. As the forces get smaller then the pool of such families gets smaller.
Using that logic, the 'supply and demand' numbers remain in proportion, so any 'supply' decrease is matched by a similar 'demand' decrease.
Taking that argument to its conclusion, the 'supply' pool actually increases relative to 'demand'. As the 'supply' (pool of families) decreases only as a result of 'forces getting smaller', so the diminishing supply side lags behind the diminishing demand side, which increases the ratio of such 'forces families' relative to the numbers required to be recruited.