Armed Forces: Discharges
(asked on 10th October 2025) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of early service leavers (a) were medically discharged and (b) left of their own volition in each service in each of the last five years.
Defence defines Early Service Leavers as personnel who exit before the end of their agreed engagement or contracted period. The following table refers to outflow following Phase 2 training, from the Trained (RN/RM and RAF) and Trade Trained (Army) UK Regular Forces, including personnel leaving the Services, deaths and recalled Reservists on release. It is not possible to identify the reasons why untrained personnel leave service early.
It should be noted that ‘Medically Discharged’ figures represent those who are suffering from a medical condition that pre-empts their continued service; ‘Voluntary Outflow’ encompasses all personnel who voluntarily exit before the end of their agreed engagement or contracted period, and ‘Other Service Leavers’ includes, but is not limited to, those that exit for reasons of discipline, unsuitability or other unspecified reasons. Figures do not include promotion from Ranks to Officers or flows between Services.
Number and Percentage of Early Service Leavers1 by Financial Year and Service from 1 April 2020 - 31 March 2025
| FY 2020-21 | FY 2021-22 | FY 2022-23 | FY 2023-24 | FY 2024-25 | |||||
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
Total | 7,077 |
| 8,584 |
| 11,317 |
| 11,315 |
| 10,099 |
|
Medically Discharged | 891 | 12.6% | 1,021 | 11.9% | 1,347 | 11.9% | 1,750 | 15.5% | 1,598 | 15.8% |
Royal Navy/ Royal Marines | 280 | 4.0% | 410 | 4.8% | 357 | 3.2% | 370 | 3.3% | 383 | 3.8% |
Army | 502 | 7.1% | 484 | 5.6% | 804 | 7.1% | 1,157 | 10.2% | 1,026 | 10.2% |
Royal Air Force | 109 | 1.5% | 127 | 1.5% | 186 | 1.6% | 223 | 2.0% | 189 | 1.9% |
Voluntary Outflow | 5,268 | 74.4% | 5,978 | 69.6% | 8,400 | 74.2% | 8,101 | 71.6% | 7,304 | 72.3% |
Royal Navy/ Royal Marines | 1,202 | 17.0% | 1,348 | 15.7% | 1,923 | 17.0% | 1,695 | 15.0% | 1,596 | 15.8% |
Army | 2,969 | 42.0% | 3,480 | 40.5% | 4,522 | 40.0% | 4,652 | 41.1% | 4,338 | 43.0% |
Royal Air Force | 1,097 | 15.5% | 1,150 | 13.4% | 1,955 | 17.3% | 1,754 | 15.5% | 1,370 | 13.6% |
Other Early Leavers | 918 | 13.0% | 1,585 | 18.5% | 1,570 | 13.9% | 1,464 | 12.9% | 1,197 | 11.9% |
Notes:
Some of this information was obtained from records whose primary purpose is to ensure appropriate administration, with statistical analysis and reporting secondary functions, introducing time lag and impacting on the quality of data recorded.
Figures align with those found in the Service Personnel Statistics Publication (2025 collection found here: Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics: 2025 - GOV.UK), in particular Table 5d UK Regular Forces Trained/Trade Trained Outflow by Service and Exit Reason.
Defence Statistics release annual updates on medical discharges in the UK Armed Forces as an Official Statistic publication. The last statistical release was on 17 July 2025 which presented data up to 31 March 2025. The latest report can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/medical-discharges-among-uk-service-personnel-statistics-index