Military Quality of Life

Homeland Security
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I am posting here to express my deep concerns about the current state of military pay and benefits, as well as the impact on recruitment and retention. As a service member with multiple deployments, I have seen firsthand the financial struggles many of us face, despite the sacrifices we make. I believe addressing these issues could significantly improve the quality and morale of our Armed Forces.

  1. Recruitment and Retention Challenges

The military is facing an unprecedented recruitment crisis. Young Americans are now finding fewer incentives to join, and this has resulted in the enlistment of individuals who may not be fully prepared for military life. According to recent reports, the quality of enlistees has declined, with a notable percentage unable to complete their initial contracts. This not only affects unit readiness but also increases the burden on those who remain committed to serving.

  1. Economic Pressures on Service Members

In the past, military pay was competitive enough to attract talent, even in entry-level positions. Now, with rising costs of living, military pay has struggled to keep up, especially in comparison to civilian sectors. For example, fast-food and retail jobs now offer wages and benefits that are competitive with what entry-level soldiers earn. When enlisted personnel qualify for food stamps or other assistance, it indicates a serious pay imbalance. Service members who work tirelessly to protect our country should not feel as though they are barely making ends meet.

  1. Inadequate Incentives and Benefits

Traditional incentives, such as the 20-year retirement system, have been modified, reducing the long-term benefits for career service members. For many Soldiers who joined with the intent to build a stable career, the current retirement system and pay structure provide little motivation to remain in service long-term. Minimal pay raises and one-time bonuses do not effectively address the economic struggles or the mental strain service members experience due to frequent moves, deployments, and separations from family.

  1. Rising Disability Rates

A personal opinion that I witnessed was an increasing number of service members are receiving full disability ratings for non-combat-related reasons. While mental health is a valid concern, this trend raises questions about whether we’re providing adequate support and screening during service to prevent these issues from escalating to the point of disability. There are lower quality of recruits joining and receiving 100% disability after only serving 2-4 years. On the other hand those of use who saw combat multiple times, including CSMs retire after 20 years and fight for 70+%.

Conclusion

I urge you to consider a comprehensive overhaul of military pay, benefits, and support systems. Our soldiers deserve a compensation package that reflects the value of their service, provides them with a living wage, and encourages retention. Investing in military personnel is not only a matter of fairness but also a crucial step toward maintaining a strong and capable fighting force.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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I literally created an account here to put in an idea for the same exact things you posted. There has to be a way to help this get traction. Our mil brothers and sisters need this. We are struggling terribly. The military today isn’t the military of 10+ years ago where we had a small surplus of funds in our pockets

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Thanks! I debated what were the most important topics to reinforce and justify my concerns. I am still active duty and have surpassed my 20-year mark. While my time to retire is likely looming in the near future, it concerns me how our military will be without addressing these issues. Thanks for liking the post and feel free to add to it!

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The soldier and their families are the ones hurting every time the democrats lowers the military budget. Nobody thinks about the soldiers’ spouse and their children.
I propose we bring back FREE food to the mess hall, that should have never been deducted from the soldier’s paycheck. The soldiers are paying for the mess hall whether they eat there or not. (This was Obama’s doing.)
What irks me the most is when there is a PCS (Permanent Change of Station) and they want the soldier to pay for transportation expenses to get to the airport because Obama called it “their responsibility”. This is not right, thats what Mac10s used to be for. The government should always pay for transportation costs for the soldier to move to the next duty station, which is the responsibility of the US Government. As they say, you are property of the US Government, so they should never have had to pay for those costs. Plus I think that ALL the soldiers who have paid for the mess hall expense should be reimbursed every penny!