Canadian Forces
Wyler,
You are referring to what the Canadian Forces (CF) call the "Decade of Darkness"; a long pay freeze, few promotions and a force reduction programme. Not a good time apparently.
However, right now the CF is growing and DND (Canadian MoD) have invested heavily in new equipment. We even have a pay rise this year, unlike my RAF pension. The CF went through painful cuts but are doing well today, maybe in the long run the same will be so for the British Forces.
I'm just glad I jumped ship when I did.