The Pentagon's pay review, conducted every four years, has found that service members are paid just as well, if not better, than similar civilians.
The review, known as the Quadrenial Review of Military Compensation, or QRMC, was unveiled Wednesday and reported that "the department's compensation package is strongly competitive with the civilian labor market," a senior defense official told reporters.
However, the official, who spoke on background to brief the press, also acknowledged what many troops have known for years -- that "there are areas for some improvements" in non-pay benefits like barracks, dining facilities and medical care "that will ultimately benefit service members, their families and the department as a whole."
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The review, which is ultimately just a set of recommendations for lawmakers on Capitol Hill, comes on the heels of a massive 14.5% raise for the lowest military ranks that was passed by Congress last month -- over the objections of the Biden administration.
According to the official, that pay bump will mean that the most junior enlisted service members jumped from making more money than 92 out of 100 of their civilian peers all the way up to 94 out of 100. Enlisted service members overall jumped from the 83rd percentile up to the 88th percentile.
A second official who spoke with reporters noted that the benchmark for military pay is currently set for the 70th percentile, but one of the report's recommendations is that Congress increase that threshold to 75 "so that … regular military compensation would exceed 74 out of 100 comparable civilians."
However, while the report didn't call for major pay hikes, it did recommend several tweaks to the benefits that troops get as part of their service.
"The targeted non-cash compensation, such as improving the barracks, getting greater access to medical care, improving dining facilities, child care ... may offer better returns on our investment for service members and families than simply increases in basic pay," the second official said.
Military.com has reported extensively on the fact that, while troops often receive special pay and allowances that their civilian counterparts don't get, their ability to actually make use of those benefits is spotty.
In September 2023, for example, a government watchdog report found that the military's youngest and most vulnerable troops -- tens of thousands of service members -- who depend on barracks housing had been forced to live in rooms that were dangerous, disgusting or downright unlivable. Sometimes, they were even forced to be the ones to clean up these conditions themselves.
Meanwhile, the recruiting websites for all the services note that housing is one of the key benefits afforded to service members, with the Marine Corps compensation page even saying that recruits are making "a reciprocal commitment" with Marines and that the Corps will "invest in you."
In other cases, service members reported that, while they were able to get a housing allowance, its power was significantly diminished because they were stuck in an area with little available housing.
The defense official who spoke to reporters conceded that they have also gotten reports of troops not being able to make use of their food allowance either because of bad food or dining facility schedules that don't line up with the hours that troops work.
In November, Military.com reported that soldiers at Fort Carson, Colorado, had recurring problems with food running out too quickly or that it was undercooked or stored at dangerous temperatures. These problems were occurring despite the fact that soldiers have no choice but to contribute an average of $460 per month from their Basic Allowance for Subsistence, or BAS, to the base.
A 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office found that the Army does not adequately track how often its food services are used by service members.
"We're also aware of those concerns from service members," the official said, before adding that the review recommends a "Quality of Life" review that would be designed to study such issues.
The official also said that the report proposes that the way the Basic Allowance for Housing -- or BAH -- is calculated be changed from providing a set amount based on the rank of the service member and the number of their dependents to "potentially setting BAH rates on the basis of number of bedrooms."
"We still obviously need to do some work on this, as to what it would look like ultimately but ... what the analysis recommended, and we believe would be appropriate, is a defined number of bedrooms based upon with or without dependents, and then by paygrade," they added.
Ultimately, it is up to lawmakers on Capitol Hill to take up the report's recommendations and draft policy changes and legislation.
