Across-the-Board Pay Raises and Other Military Manpower Issues

The issues concerning military compensation and manpower policies are interrelated with the wisdom of instituting a military salary system to replace the antiquated pay and allowance system and whether the retirement system should be revised so that it would work for, rather than against, military manpower objectives. While across-the-board pay raises would have very little impact on the group of military career personnel with 13 to 30 years of service, pay raises would influence some people with 5 to 12 years of service to remain in the Service longer than they otherwise would have. However, this group is already larger than desired in terms of the total force profile, and further increases in its size may not be in the best interests of the Armed Forces. Although the active duty career force has remained stable since 1973 and is fully manned, there are severe shortages of certain skills in each of the Services. The Department of Defense (DOD) stated that a recent pay increase improved retention rates; however, DOD has not demonstrated that the increased retention rates occurred in the critical shortage skill areas. GAO does not believe that an across-the-board approach is the best or most efficient way to solve the manpower problems facing the military Services. A better way would be to address each problem individually through the use of selective bonuses or other incentives. This could be accomplished at far less cost than the amount recently requested for two raises. It is the GAO view that a salary system is a better way to pay Service personnel, because an improvement in the perceived rewards of Armed Forces' enlistments would have a major impact on recruiting problems. Reform of the retirement system would contribute to the resolution of some problems. The continuation of the 20-year retirement for all military personnel is not justified. Unless changes are made, there is doubt whether a continuation of the present system can be afforded without making significant sacrifices in other areas.