Interesting point. For the majority of those "four or more" years, life in the UK was more or less like being in the army in peacetime, but with a really big budget. The "D-Day Dodgers" notwithstanding, those units that landed on i6 June 1944 were in action for about 11 months. Think about that for a moment. 11 months of combat. Yes, it was conventional warfare against a very strong and powerful enemy and yes the casualty rates were huge compared to today (70 deaths due to all causes in 5 years), but in the end, only 11 months. Todays veteran with 2 tours has more time on the "two way range" than many of the vets of yesteryear. Of course, 1 Can Div and the rest of those who "dodged D Day" spent nearly 23 months in combat and one thing I read in a book whose name currently fails me, is that key positions in units burned out at about 6 months.