My DH is in the forces. He spent 8 months - working usually 12-18 hour days, 6 days a week in the Middle East. He had one week off during that time. To be fair he had a lot of time off when he came home, but that isn't really the point.
My private sector job is a lot more cushty.
Having said that I do think that given that it is public money, it is sensible to review where it is going, and find out why for eg sickness rates in areas of the public sector are high vs private sector.