Defence Force recruitment is at a 10-year high as more people turn to the army, navy and air force because of the recession.

Defence Force figures also show that the rate at which personnel are quitting the armed forces is near the lowest it has been for a decade.

The figures come as the Government conducts a review of defence, which will result in a White Paper in September that will map out the challenges ahead – including where to cut costs.

Nelson cadet David West, 16, says he hopes to enlist for training as a field engineer next year. The army would offer extra training so "if I leave ... I also have training in explosives. So I could go and earn vast sums of money". He would otherwise have to pay for that training.

The review conducted by Rod Deane – nicknamed Dr Death for his experience in cutting costs in the public sector – will look to free up about $50 million a year to help the armed forces cope with tight budgets for the foreseeable future.

It comes on the back of a tumultuous time for the armed forces. There have been costly delays in acquiring its new ships and planes, while 33 surplus army light-armoured vehicles have been stowed in "deep storage".

With the Defence Force's own spending review having delivered $84m in savings since 2007 through reducing travel, merging some training and contracts, and other moves, finding more fat to cut is set to be a painful exercise. It is unclear if front-line personnel will be affected, but back-office staff – there are about 2700 civilian members in the armed forces – could be in the gun.

Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said major issues included the need to replace three big-ticket items, including the two Anzac frigates which will be obsolete by 2030.

The five Hercules transport planes will need replacing by 2020, and the six Orion surveillance plane will pass their use-by date in 2025.

The Defence Force says the increased recruitment and retention are the result of people seeking secure jobs during the recession, but also a pay review that linked military pay to civilian jobs and boosted pay for new recruits.

There were 9793 military personnel in the regular forces at the end of February, 56 more than the last three months of 2009 and 453 more than the end of 2008.

At the end of June last year – the last full year for which figures were available – recruitment was running at 108 per cent of targets, compared with 89 per cent in 2007.

Attrition rates had fallen to 8.34 per cent compared with 14.2 per cent two years ago.

- The Dominion Post