Military Pay Changes – Will it Lead to Increase Enlistment?

All monetary changes to the budget from the Department of Defense stem from Congress. Congress must debate, agree and sign the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) each year for the coming fiscal year – running from October to September. For example, the 2023 fiscal year begins October 2023 through September 2024. The FY23 NDAA was signed into law in December 2022. This month, the debates begin for the FY 24 NDAA. One can hope that the NDAA will be signed into law before the fiscal year begins, or multiple continuing resolutions will precede it.

One addition the U.S. House wants to add to the FY24 bill is a raise to military pay. The proposed 5.2% raise is the largest seen in over two decades. In the past, the military has not typically received a raise like its civilian counterparts. Federal estimates state that with this pay raise will match it to civilian wages. The U.S. inflation rate in 2021 was 7%, and 6.5% in 2022 with preceding inflation rates in the 1 and 2% for the previous five years.

Members of the House Armed Services Committee introduced the proposed pay raise. It would mean that those joining military service within that fiscal year would see an increase to about $15/hour wage. This hour wage does depend on hours worked, as the base pay does not change during deployment, but the hours worked do typically increase. Base pay is not the only thing troops receive for compensation. The benefit of accessible healthcare to active duty, housing and food stipends increases the overall compensation. In addition to the pay raise, those ranked E5 and below would see a general increase in their base pay.

Bipartisan support will be needed for the bill to pass. The FY23 NDAA did not pass before the fiscal year began, so if history should repeat itself, the FY24 NDAA will not pass before the fiscal year begins. In that case, continuing resolutions continue the functioning budget. Furthermore, the bill must go through the House and Senate. Typically, many items lead to debates that hold up passing the law. It is not necessarily the military pay or pay raise that is debated, but part of the bill cannot be passed without the whole.

It is unclear what the pay raise would cost. In 2022, there were 1.3 million active-duty members. Numbers in the budget are typically what lead to debates in Congress. If you are part of a military family, feeling the pinch of inflation and seeing the hours the military member works, this pay raise is well-deserved. Time will tell what happens to the bill and potentially to the pay raise for the all-volunteer military force.