|
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 1, 2008) - With competitive salaries, a
top-notch retirement package, and now the option to share education
benefits with family members, a career in the U.S. military has
become far more attractive since the days of the draft.
Thirty-five years ago today, the armed forces ended involuntary
enlistment and the all-volunteer force was born. Just as military
equipment and tactics have evolved since the Vietnam War era, so
have the incentives that entice and sustain men and women who
volunteer to wear their nation's uniform.
"When you put the whole package together, it's becoming very
attractive to join the military," Army Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz,
director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat
Organization, said in an interview yesterday. "It can be a
wonderful life."
When Metz volunteered for the Army in 1966, he was one of only
two men in his basic training company who had not been drafted.
"There was one kid from Baltimore and myself. The rest of the
company was draftees," he recalled. "I don't want to go back to
that."
The general cited a combination of reasons why people enlist
today: patriotism, the opportunity for worldly experience, and
valuable training. But the lure of benefits, which have expanded
since the advent of the all-volunteer force and continue to grow,
also is an important draw.
"The first, and most tangible, was getting the pay scale on an
equal footing with your counterpart on your civilian side," Metz
said, describing the evolution of military incentives. "That takes
that differential off the table."
Disparity between civilian and military salaries used to be a
stumbling block for recruiters. But this is a nonissue now that
servicemembers' pay -- based on their education and job experience
-- is roughly equal to what they would make out of uniform, Metz
said.
As pay scales equalized, servicemembers tended to replace their
concerns about compensation with a less urgent focus on levels of
job satisfaction. On a daily basis, the general said, the onus is
with commanders and noncommissioned officers to create an
environment in which military members feel fulfilled being part of
the unit.
But in the long-term view of military careers, he added, the
recruiting system has evolved since the draft to better match
military members with an occupation in which they're more likely to
find enduring satisfaction.
This is contrary to the armed forces' days of yore, when
draftees not only were forced into service, but also had no
latitude to select their military job.
"When you force somebody to come into the service, then you
force the military skill on them that they may or may not be
interested in," Metz said, "you've got a real uphill battle in the
training and education of that soldier."
Now, however, recruiters use aptitude tests to steer enlistees
into jobs they're most likely to enjoy, making them easier to train
and educate. "It's just better for all concerned," Metz said.
Capping a military career is a retirement package which the
general characterized as America's gold-standard pension.
"Once a person gets beyond those teenage years and begins to
think a little bit deeper about their life, [they realize] you
cannot build an annuity that matches the retirement of an armed
forces member in the United States," he said.
The most recent enhancement to military benefits came yesterday,
when President Bush signed legislation that will increase
servicemembers' education package and, for the first time, allows
troops to transfer unused portions to family members.
Metz predicted the bill will have a direct impact on recruiting.
He added that because military members now can obtain degrees as
easily in uniform as they can as civilians, servicemembers could
attend programs like those offered at the College of the American
Soldier, and transfer unused GI Bill benefits to a spouse or
child.
"The transfer of that GI educational benefit is a double win,
because you could become a soldier, get an education, and get a
family member's education," he said. "You're really getting a
'twofer.'"
The 42-year career soldier offered his praise for today's
all-volunteer force. "They're doing an unbelievably good job," he
said, "and we have got to have them continue."
|
