The Regular strength of the UK Armed Forces is currently 138,350,
There were 155,000 in the Royal Air Force alone when I joined. Our commitments "East of Suez" were drawn down in 1971 and that was an excuse to downsize the armed forces - but hang on a minute: aren't Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan East of Suez? Never mind, we don't need all those soldiers in Germany now that we're Best Friends with Russia, eh? and the world is such a peaceful place now, with all potential enmities sorted and no chance of a war breaking out anywhere, why do we need any armed forces at all?