In the civilian world you can spread out more work by hiring more employees. But in the military, usually most of the work is training which enhances the readiness and proficiency of the war fighters...if you spread the work out, you end with a larger number less-proficient fighters. Our military is better than anyone else's largely due to that work ethic.

Better to have fewer guys who really know what they're doing. The world is full of half-assed military forces with civil-service schedules, and we've rolled over more than a few.