I think what it comes down to is that you either love and accept the military way of life or you don't. If you do, then you'll stay and accept the good with the

I think what it comes down to is that you either love and accept the military way of life or you don't. If you do, then you'll stay and accept the good with the bad. If you don't, then no amount of promotion is going to keep you. I wasn't an officer, but I was an NCO in SOCOM, and we had a lot of very intelligent Soldiers. We had one of the lowest retention rates in the Army (I'm guessing) simply because we had other options in the civilian world that paid more, challenged us more, promoted us based on talent and potential, and kept us home. Overall, the military promotion system is backwards and archaic. Until it is fixed (at least in the Army), I think you'll continue to see a steady decline in re-enlistment of talented people. In the Navy, I can only assume that it's the same way.