When it comes to the military compensation and talent management, the Department of Defense (DoD) falls short compared to attractive growing companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook. These companies offer competitive salaries, performance incentives, and quality of life amenities. The new multigenerational workforce focuses more on indirect compensation such as sense of worth and psychological rewards versus the previous focus on direct compensation methods like salary. Statistically, the DoD typically loses at least 40% of qualified Officers to the civilian workforce upon completion of their initial term (Demirel, 2002). Several variables affect an Officer’s decision to stay past their initial obligation term. The ongoing debate among military professionals is to identify these variables and use this information to utilize talent management in coordination with compensation. A reform of the military compensation system makes the military a more competitive market in relation to civilian organizations. With an increase in force structure this greatly benefits the recruitment and retention of the best Officer Candidates and professionals.
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter (2015) once said “How can we bring in more highly skilled people? And how can we reward those people and promote people not simply on the basis of when they joined, but even more and more on the basis of their performance and talent? How can we be that kind of organization?” That organization, in order to compete with the economic employment market of today, must overcome the outdated compensation methods of previous World Wars and become a social competitor in the total rewards arena. Current Compensation System
Direct Compensation.
The foundation of the DoD compensation system and individual salary is basic pay. Basic pay is a taxable income based on rank, whether or not an Officer was enlisted prior to transitioning to the Officer Corps, and Time In Service (TIS), or how long an individual has served on active duty. As an example, a Captain (Officer) with prior service (enlisted) and has over 16 years TIS receives $6,827.10 per month before taxes (Military Pay Chart, 2017). That pay will increase to $7,026.00 upon eligibility date for 18 years TIS. As an individual is promoted and TIS progresses, their basic pay increases, yearly until they reach four years and then every two years after. It is a salary wage meaning Soldiers earn their basic pay regardless of how many hours they work. This is one point of common debate among military and civilian personnel. The derogatory view of the military pay is often calculated based on the basic pay divided by 24 hours since a Soldier is a Soldier 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. This misconception leads many to believe that the military pay scale is below poverty wages and forcing many enlisted Soldiers to rely on government assistance. This altered reality is not a fair assessment and should include additional components of the compensation …show more content…
system.
Another component of pay is Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). BAH is yet another form of total compensation received my military service members. Military housing has recently been privatized which means service members must pay 100% of their allowed BAH to the company responsible for the on-base housing. Living on base is an extreme convenience however, it is often less expensive to live off-base where the BAH will cover rent/mortgage and utilities. BAH is similar to basic pay in that it is based on a service member’s rank. A couple of differences between wage determination of basic pay and BAH is that BAH varies with whether or not the service members has dependents, it is based on the duty location of the service member, and it is non-taxable income.
The final form of direct compensation received on a regular basis is Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS). Similar to the previous two compensation methods, BAS is based on rank and non-taxable. However, it is solely based on whether a service member is an Officer or Enlisted. According to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (Military Pay Chart, 2017) effective 1 January 2016 enlisted service members receive $368.29 and officers receive $253.63. Regardless of how much TIS or number of dependents someone has, they are all receiving the same amount of BAS. Enlisted service members receive more than Officers since Officer receive more basic pay. However, if a Soldier is single and living in government barracks they typically do not receive BAS but are issued a meal card that allows them to eat for free in any military dining facility for all meals.
Indirect Compensation. Indirect compensation is defined as “compensation that is not paid directly to an employee and is calculated in addition to base salary and incentive pay (e.g., employer-paid portions of health/dental/vision insurance, retirement benefits, educational benefits, relocation expenses, employee paid time off.)”(SHRM, 2012). The military offers an extensive indirect compensation package that distinguishes itself on a global scale. According to my Personal Statement of Military Compensation (2016), some of the allowances and benefits that comprise the military indirect compensation are medical care, federal tax advantage, pension, death and survivor programs, life insurance, death gratuity, VA dependency and indemnity, survivor benefit plan, pay growth, state / local tax advantage, and additional discounted services and benefits.
The primary objective of the military health system is to “ensure those in uniform are medically ready to deploy anywhere around the globe on a moment’s notice (About the Military Health System).
Currently, the military health system is comprised of health care, education, public health, civilian medical partnerships, and research and development. The health care’s dependability and reliability varies and can be based on location and subjectivity. Service members not located near a military installation are assigned to civilian health care providers. This is an extremely beneficial procurement of health care, not only due to the immediate availability of civilian providers, urgent cares, and emergency rooms, it also precludes remote service members from having to drive more than 50 miles to visit a physician or
hospital.
As far as subjectivity is concerned, there is a bias among Soldiers that military physicians are horrible and you do not want them anywhere near you. Unlike many civilian physicians with their own practice, military doctors are paid a flat rate regardless of patient volume. They are also over booked and often do not have enough time to spend with patients, leading to a perception of not caring enough about patients. Military treatment facilities are also not necessarily outfitted with the most up to date equipment that civilian providers and hospitals often have. This can lead to longer waiting times and misdiagnosis. Soldiers have a running joke that Motrin and water cure everything since doctors seem to prescribe Motrin for just about anything and everything.
When it comes to education and public health, the military provides to the best of their ability, quality education on health issues, concerns, and questions. They offer smoking cessation, birthing, breastfeeding, drug and alcohol, mental disorders awareness, and nutrition classes. According to the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), defense medical research and development received $452.6M in fiscal year 2010-2015. The mission of the CDMRP is “to provide full life-cycle operational execution management for Defense health Program core research program areas in support of advancing collaborative, innovative medical research and development to improve military community health and save lives on and off the battlefield” (CDMRP, n.d.). Everything the military does centers around the battlefield and the preparation for the battlefield.
After the battlefield has called your name one last time and retirement is on the horizon, Soldiers begin to engage a military transition team to help ease from military life to civilian. The largest thing on a Soldier’s mind is retirement… how much am I going to get and how soon will it start. The military retirement system is not one that an individual must pay into or wait until the age of 65 to partake. It is a benefit afforded once a service member serves at least 20 years or is deemed medically unqualified to continue service. Retired service members do not have to wait until Social Security age to receive benefits; they typically get started 6-8 weeks after retiring.
Additionally, Service members are afforded plenty of education opportunities. From tuition assistance, Montgomery GI Bill, student loan repayment options, and stipends, nearly 1 million student veterans used $10.9 billion in education benefits in 2011 (Fain, 2013). Among civilian education opportunities, the military offers quality career and vocational training that can deeply enhance one’s worth upon separation from the military.