According to Financial Times analysis, the ratio of officers to " lower ranks" in the Armed Forces has fallen from 1/7 during the 1970s and 1980s to 1/5 today, as non-commissioned personnel have borne the brunt of the squeeze on force levels.
The imbalance is such that the military could shed almost a quarter of all officers and still remain at the same ratio as prevailed through the cold war. In salaries alone, this would save about £400m a year.
The sooner it is done the better. Once you get to that level of imbalance, the officer corps is a hindrance rather than an asset. You can have too much of a good thing ... and far too much of a very bad thing.
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