The underlying reason is as it gets raised every time Cockayne's name appears on this forum.
As for his reasons for leaving the Army, well he will have been a young kid at the time.
Many people go into the Army, Navy etc and realise its not for them.

Quite correct and to leave the services requires an 18 month notice period, or it did when I was in the Navy.

Which is why it was not uncommon for those who desperately wanted out (for whatever reason) to become persistent offenders or, at the time, declare sexual feelings for men (it was a dischargeable offence then to be gay). 18 months is a long time to wait when you've decided that you don't like your job, but in the forces it's not simply your job, it's your whole life, especially if you are posted abroad.

The route Cockayne took to leave the Army is one that hundreds before and since have taken.

Pvr is a year, giving your notice is 18 months.

At least you can't buy yourself out anymore.

I knew a few lads who started smoking pot to get out but never got tested!

Just as I was leaving the Royal Navy they brought your notice down to 12 months. That was back in 2002. Sure that would have being for ALL the forces.

The pvr (a form of notice without the entitlements) is a year, your notice is 18 months.

We were going to do similar, but dont you think our troops have been thorugh enough already

Both incorrect - and never been the case for at least the last 3 decades. I can give you the current Terms & Conditions for the Army.

'Open Engagement' now means you must give 12 months NTT (Notice to Terminate) your employment. You can apply for early release with good reason and not pay a penny. You can also PVR and get out with less than 12 months notice, but this is rare and negates any entitlement to resettlement etc.

As for a system to let young soldiers leave the Army with reduced notice if it doesn't suit them. That's fine but the Army spends a fair bit of cash training us up initially so expects a return of service. Mine was a minimum of 6 years because of my trade, but it's generally a minimum of 3 years now. The MoD is wasting too much money as it is without throwing more down the drain.

My initial feelings (and without looking back probably reflected in some of my posts at the time) about Ben Cockayne been found guilty in court were to get rid. But actually I might have been a tad hypocritical, as would many of us. My thoughts are that he has had his day in court and hopefully learnt his lesson. And as for going out of his way to get discharged from the Army in the manner he did (I think I also posted the facts regarding this back then), then maybe if he was to be handed a professional contract in Rugby League he had no other option. Sometimes it can be a chain-of-command failing - if someone excels in a sport then their career can be shaped to suit both parties.

I presumed the army had the same ways to cease your employment as the air force through pay 2000 and the terms of employment that came from that.

It was that case for the RAF in 2007.