Fewer than eight per cent of people who applied to the Army last year went on to become soldiers, it was reported last night.
The Army took on just 7,500 new recruits, even though it had received more than 100,000 applications.
Despite the high demand, recruits had to wait an average of 300 days between applying and joining the Army, according to the Sun.
Because of the long delays, many had withdrawn their application before the end of the 300 days.
The army took on just 7,500 new recruits last year despite receiving more than 100,000 applications. One of the recruitment adverts used this year showed soldiers comforting each other on the front line and ends with a soldier crying
It comes as the Army is currently 4,000 short of what it should be, with 78,000 troops.
Between March 2015 and March 2016, 8,600 signed up, while 10,626 left.
Between September 2016 and September 2017, 101,854 people tried to become a solider.
While 7,441 were taken on, 9,718 left.
Another recruitment advert showed a Muslim soldier taking time out of an exercise to pray. Recruits had to wait an average of 300 days between applying and joining the Army
Last night SAS veteran Andy McNab branded military recruitment ‘absolute madness’ and a ‘faceless bureaucratic nightmare’ as many were put off by delays in their applications.
Mr McNab told the Sun: ‘How can you go from over 100,000 trying to join to less than 8,000 singing up defies belief.
‘It’s because the Army and Capita have turned recruitment into a faceless, bureaucratic nightmare.
‘The Army is in a crisis – and it’s not because no one wants in.’
It comes after MPs criticised the Armed Forces’ £1.3billion recruitment strategy, claiming the Services are facing a ‘manpower crisis’.
A third showed a woman deciding to join the military after working a normal civilian job. Because of the long delays many drop out before the recruitment process is finished
Another dealt with the question ‘Can I be gay in the army?’ and shows two men chatting at a bar before jumping to uniformed men in a warzone
They have demanded a review of the system – which was outsourced to private firm Capita in 2012 in a bid to boost numbers – as the Army, Navy and RAF remain below personnel targets.
The Ministry of Defence has already handed £752million to Capita – £54million more than planned at this stage of a ten-year contract.
Recent attempts to recruit soldiers from different backgrounds have been condemned for neglecting those who traditionally join the Armed Forces.
With 78,000 troops, the Army is currently at its smallest size since 1815.
Cutting it down by 28,000 would make it the smallest it has been in 220 years and fall short of Germany’s 60,000.
In recent years, the Army has failed to recruit enough soldiers to maintain the same number of troops.
Each year around a third of applicants are turned down because they are too old, do not have the right education or are not fit enough for active service.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘The huge demand to join the Army is to be welcomed and our new recruitment campaign and fitness app means thousands of people are applying.
‘We are working hard to speed up the process so recruits who meet our world class standards can start their training as soon as possible.’