there should be a way to have as many soldiers as you want in your empire?
in the real world, some countries have every citizen be trained as a soldier for a certain number of years. this is so they are well equiped to survive if any war comes to the country. in simcountry, this should be an option. i certainly would like every single citizen in my empire to be trained in soldiering duties, say from when they are age 18 to 24. yes, 6 years of their lives to the military so they can go through all the military divisions (army, navy, airforce, marine, etc). after that, they can decide whether to stay as a soldier or get civilian lifestyle.
and keep at least 20% of my empire's population being soliders