GAO: Troops Uninformed About Compensation

A report made by the Government Accountability Office to congressional committees this month states that service members are dissatisfied and harbor misconceptions about their pay and benefits. The report says this has happened in part because the Defense Department “does not effectively educate them about the competitiveness of their total compensation packages.” It adds that about 80 percent of the 400 service members that GAO surveyed believed they would earn more as civilians. In contrast, it continues, a 2002 study showed that service members generally earn more cash compensation alone than 70 percent of like-educated civilians. Service members also expressed confusion over aspects of their compensation, like retirement. Furthermore, many complained that benefits were eroding despite recent actions by Congress and DoD to enhance them. Existing official Web sites, brochures and fact sheets about compensation are not effective enough, concludes the GAO.