PN - I believe that WSOs have only been recruited on short service commissions for some years now. It is a trade that is rapidly shrinking. When Typhoon is fully up and running, FSTA in service, etc the main areas for WSO will be MRA4, GR4 and training (going out to civy contract). I saw a report several years ago from Innsworth identifying a need for 120 WSOs long term, with 600+ in service at that time!
As for the rumours that started this thread, mixed messages indeed. Shrink down to 35,000 with redundancies on the one hand. Extended service to 60, which will decrease your natural wastage, making 35,000 harder to reach, on the other....
