Not all active duty service members, retirees, or family members think more generous and more expensive military compensation benefits are automatically the best option, according to a new study by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Over the course of 12 weeks, more than 2,600 persons responded to the think tank’s survey, explained Todd Harrison, the CSBA senior fellow who authored the study, during a July 12 press event in Washington, D.C., unveiling it. Not surprisingly, service members of all ranks placed a high value on basic duty pay, though lower ranking service members marked this as an even higher priority, he said. The majority of respondents also valued keeping years of service for retirement at 20 years versus dropping it to 15 years. In addition, “More than 80 percent of service members in each age group would prefer a one percent increase in basic pay in exchange for raising the retirement collection age to 50,” states the study. On the other hand, performance-based bonuses ranked fairly low when compared to the cost of implementation.
More than 100 B-21s will be needed if the nation is to avoid creating a high demand/low capacity capability, panelists said on a Hudson Institute webinar. The B-21's flexibility, stealth, range and payload will be in high demand for a wide range of missions, both traditional and new.