In preliminary suggestions released last week, the Defense Advisory Committee on Military Compensation suggests DOD should shift military pay to a “function of time in grade rather than years of service.” Such a move, says the panel, is a “growing sentiment” within DOD and would reward those who are promoted early into a higher grade. The current system, notes the panel, does little to encourage better performance or incentive to stay beyond 30 years.
For more than a decade, the Pentagon have steadily invested more and more of its budget in research and development compared to procurement—resulting in a “smaller, older, and less capable force than it needs,” according to a new analysis from the Center for a New American Security think tank.