Sir – I read with interest Mr Oates’s complaint (Letters, December 2) that he felt he should be entitled to a pro-rata pension for his service.

When he signed on, for a short-term three-, six-, or nine-year engagement, he knew full well that there was little in the way of a final pay-off. To achieve a pension he would have been required to commit to a full career engagement.

The rules for US recruits are completely different and unlikely to transfer across the ‘pond’.

Alec Hayton
St John’s Green, Wallingford