Military Compensation will Change

Taken from the January 20, 2015 issue of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) Washington Report

The defense secretary and an influential senator both said changes to military compensation are inevitable. Both were speaking just days before a report is expected from a commission that has been studying military benefits and compensation.

“We cannot sustain the current trajectory that we are on with the current system we have,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a speech last week, according to Military Times. “We’ve got to address this. And we’ve got to be honest about it. And we have to deal with it.”

The Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission has been reviewing the compensation programs since it was created by Congress in 2013. Its report is expected February 1 and will likely recommend an overhaul of much of the system, although only new recruits will be affected by any changes. Current service members will continue under the current systems.

Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee that will address the recommendations from the report, told The Hill, “We know that it has to be reformed. Everybody knows it has to be reformed. There’s nobody I know that says you can continue as we’ve been going.”

The Defense Department has said that it spends so much on compensation, including retirement pay and health care that it impacts its ability to invest in new weapons systems.