Population Representation in the Military Services

The goal of the Population Representation in the Military Services report is to provide the most up-to-date, reliable, and consistent data on military personnel for policy-makers, the media, and the general public.

Compensation Greenbooks

The Compensation Greenbook is an annual publication which contains selected military compensation tables broken down by a number of variables including, pay grade, family size and income tax brackets.   

Military Compensation Background Papers

These documents are a legislative and regulatory history of military compensation, benefits and manpower cost items. They serve as an authoritative reference tool for all researchers interested in the U.S. military compensation system.

• Military Compensation Background Papers, Seventh Edition, November 2011
• Military Compensation Background Papers, Sixth Edition, May 2005

Quadrennial Reviews of Military Compensation

Every four years, the Department of Defense commissions a complete review of compensation principles and concepts for members of the armed forces.

• Eleventh Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, Main Report
• Eleventh Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, Supporting Research Papers
• Tenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, Executive Summary
• Tenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, Volume I
• Tenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, Volume II
• Ninth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation

Valuation of the Military Retirement System Reports

The Department of Defense Office of the Actuary publishes annual valuations of the military retirement system that include projecting personnel, pay and benefits, and calculating annual Department of Defense contribution costs, as well as determining program unfunded liabilities and their amortizations.

Statistical Reports on the Military Retirement System

The Department of Defense Office of the Actuary publishes annual reports that compile data primarily from the retiree pay and survivor pay files, sorting and compiling data by various categories such as service, rank, type of retirement and mailing address of the retiree.

RAND Reports

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. 

• Asch, Hosek, Kavanagh and Mattock, “Retention, Incentives, and DoD Experience Under the 40-Year Military Pay Table,” Aug. 3, 2016 – In 2015, the Senate Armed Services Committee requested that the Department of Defense review the 40-year pay table and report on whether it is still necessary for retaining experienced personnel or whether such retention could be equally achieved with a 30-year pay table. RAND researchers were asked to assist in this review and this report documents their analysis.
• Asch, Mattock and Hosek, “Reforming Military Retirement: Analysis in Support of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission,” July 17, 2015 – This report details the analysis conducted in support of the congressionally-mandated Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission to review the military compensation and retirement systems and make recommendations to modernize them. 
• Bond, Lewis, Leonard, Pollak, Guo and Rostker, “Tour Lengths, Permanent Changes of Station, and Alternatives for Savings and Improved Stability,” Feb. 8, 2016 – This report examines the workings of permanent change of station programs with the goal of determining the potential for savings that could accrue from reducing the total number of permanent changes of station by increasing the average amount of time between them. 
• Asch, Hosek and Mattock, “Toward Meaningful Military Compensation Reform: Research in Support of DoD's Review,” Nov. 12, 2014 – This report summarizes research in support of the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s working group that conducted a comprehensive review of military compensation, focusing on retirement compensation. 
• Asch, Mattock and Hosek, “A New Tool for Assessing Workforce Management Policies Over Time: Extending the Dynamic Retention Model,” Aug. 26, 2013 – The research in this report extends the dynamic retention model to allow simulations of the effects of alternative policies both in the steady state and in the transition to the steady state. It also shows the effects of alternative implementation strategies and how different policies can affect how quickly the population and costs move toward the new steady state. 
• Asch, Hosek and Mattock, “A Policy Analysis of Reserve Retirement Reform,” Jan. 30, 2013 – This report compares the reserve and active retirement systems, discusses the importance of structuring compensation to enable flexibility in managing active and reserve manpower, describes how the debate over reserve retirement reform had differed from Active Component retirement reform debate, and considers obstacles to reform and how they might be overcome. 
• Buddinand Han, “Is Military Disability Compensation Adequate to Offset Civilian Earnings Losses from Service-Connected Disabilities?” Aug. 8, 2012 – This research examines the adequacy of disability compensation to offset the reduction in civilian earnings opportunities that are associated with service-connected disabilities. 
• Hosek, Asch and Mattock, “Should the Increase in Military Pay Be Slowed?” July 30, 2012 – This report discusses several approaches to slowing the rate of increase in military pay, including a one-time increase in basic pay set at half a percentage point below the Employment Cost Index, a one-year freeze in basic pay and a series of below-Employment Cost Index increases, such as index minus half a percentage point for four years. 
• Mattock, Hosek and Asch, “Reserve Participation and Cost Under a New Approach to Reserve Compensation,” June 28, 2012 – This report analyzes the new compensation policy proposed by the 11th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation to pay reservists daily basic pay and allowances equal to Active Component members, regardless of type of duty. 
• Asch, Heaton, Hosek, Martorell, Simon and Warner, “Cash Incentives and Military Enlistment, Attrition and Reenlistment,” May 14, 2010 – This report provides the results of an empirical analysis to determine whether enlistment and reenlistment bonuses were effective in maintaining or increasing the supply of personnel to the armed forces. 
• Buddin and Kapur, “An Analysis of Military Disability Compensation,” Oct. 10, 2005 – This study analyzes features of the military disability compensation system and compares the system with benefits available through civilian programs designed to help employees injured in the workplace. The study also compares the civilian labor market outcomes of disabled retirees with those of similar other retirees who are not disabled.

Miscellaneous Reports 

• “Report to Congress: Implementation Plan for Modernizing the Military Retirement System,” March 2016 – Published by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, this report provides the required implementation plan, a short background on the current military retirement system and highlights of the new modernized retirement system. 
• Bicksler and Nolan, “Recruiting an All-Volunteer Force: The Need for Sustained Investment in Recruiting Resources-An Update,” December 2009 – This report assesses how various factors affect the military’s ability to enlist high-quality youth. 
• “A Report to Congress Concerning Federal Former Spouse Protection Laws” – This report presents the results of a review of former spouse protection laws applicable to members and former members of the uniformed services and their former spouses. Report results are based on analysis of legal, procedural, and experiential data and materials related to the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act carried out by the Department of Defense.