Developing and offering the appropriate military compensation packages—including wages, health care, reenlistment bonuses, retirement, leave, dependent benefits, and survivor benefits—is necessary to attract and retain active duty and reserve personnel with essential skills. RAND has conducted extensive research to advise policymakers on developing compensation options to attract and retain a military workforce capable of meeting a nation's strategic goals.
REPORT
This briefing identifies policy questions related to compensating service
members and their survivors for fatality risk. After comparing patterns in the
characteristics of combat fatalities with those of fatalities occurring in other
contexts, it discusses the Department of Defense's current compensation
programs. Policymakers may benefit from both empirical studies and comparisons
with compensation programs that exist in other contexts.
REPORT
An econometric assessment of the effectiveness of incentive pays in retaining remotely piloted aircraft pilots and sensor operators. Civilian pilot and sensor operator salaries are higher than those of other officers or enlisted personnel, indicating that incentive pays should be continued, along with reenlistment bonuses, because failure to retain enough personnel would cause serious problems with filling critical positions.
REPORT
Military enlistment increases earnings about 40 percent in the first few years following application, then diminishes to about 11 percent 14–18 years later. While enlistment delays college education in the short run, it increases the likelihood of attaining a two-year college degree.
REPORT
The Post-9/11 GI Bill increased the higher education benefits available to eligible individuals, but its implementation presented challenges to both student veterans and campus administrators.
NEWS RELEASE
Data on the experiences of student veterans and campus administrators during the first year of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
RESEARCH BRIEF
The Post-9/11 GI Bill increased the higher education benefits available to eligible individuals. Offering benefits to nearly 2 million veterans, it is more generous than previous bills but beneficiaries report challenges in using the new benefits.
REPORT
While most U.S. government officials working in Iraq believe the use of armed private security contractors has been a useful strategy, many worry that the contractors have not always had a positive effect on U.S. foreign policy objectives.
NEWS RELEASE
The increased use of cash bonuses by the U.S. Department of Defense to encourage military enlistment and reenlistment had a positive effect on recruiting and retention in the armed forces.
REPORT
The increased use of cash bonuses by the U.S. Department of Defense to encourage military enlistment and reenlistment had a positive effect on recruiting and retention in the armed forces. Until recently, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have placed greater stress on military recruitment and retention.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Congress has questioned the scope and efficacy of enlistment and reenlistment bonuses, but Army high-quality recruiting would have been lower without them; they are more cost-effective than pay but less so than recruiters as a way to gain recruits.
REPORT
Testimony presented before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Personnel on April 28, 2010.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Examines the effect of multiyear special pay on attrition from the U.S. Air Force medical corps.
REPORT
As military compensation is a fundamental tool for recruiting and retaining an all-volunteer force, it is reviewed every four years to make sure it can meet the U.S. military's objectives. This research examines the value and effectiveness of the current retirement system and possible alternatives, drawing on military personnel career data.
NEWS RELEASE
Most U.S. military reservists see their earnings increase when they are called to active duty, contrary to the common belief that the earnings of reservists fall when they are activated.
REPORT
The military disability compensation system faces substantial program growth. A more coherent and less complex system is needed to identify the criteria for measuring the economic loss from an injury and target payments more effectively.
RESEARCH BRIEF
This research brief compares military and civilian disability compensation systems and discusses the need for a way to measure the economic loss from a military-related injury and to assess the effect of a military disability on civilian earnings.
NEWS RELEASE
RAND news release: RAND Study Finds Most Military Reservists See Income Rise When Called to Active Duty
REPORT
The U.S. military offers substantial health care benefits to active-duty members and their families. However, this benefit is not often counted as an element of compensation. Assigning it a reasonable monetary value would help promote awareness and satisfaction.
REPORT
The military must ensure that its compensation system provides flexibility in managing personnel, induces innovatory activities and well-calculated risk-taking, and provides incentives for performance, retention, and skill acquisition. This report analyzes four models of compensation-promotion tournaments, deferred compensation, pay-for-performance mechanisms, and nonmonetary rewards-in the context of military transformation efforts.
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