Committee reviewing military pay package Published May 12, 2005 By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- A new committee is studying the military compensation system to come up with ways to bring it more in line with what servicemembers want and operational needs demand.The defense advisory committee on military compensation held its first public meeting May 11 to explain how Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld asked them to take a look at the current system and recommend how to make it better.The committee will look at the whole compensation program for people in the active and reserve components, said retired Navy Adm. Donald Pilling, committee chairman and former vice chief of naval operations.This includes basic, special and incentive pays; benefits ranging from housing to medical care; and deferred pay that includes retirement pay and survivor benefits, he said.The committee will attempt to strike the best balance between cash and benefits, current and deferred compensation, and the need for flexibility during peacetime as well as war, Admiral Pilling said.It will also consider the best way to compensate guardsmen and reservists who are deploying frequently to support military operations, he said.The goal is to ensure the armed forces continue to attract and retain top-quality, highly motivated people and to ensure they and their families receive the compensation they deserve. That is particularly important when they are burdened by multiple deployments and family separations, Admiral Pilling said.One issue the committee will deal with is that many servicemembers are more interested in cash in hand than retirement or other benefits. "They tend to value current compensation more than compensation that they will not receive for 10 or 20 years, or maybe not at all," he said.Retirement benefits become more important later in a servicemembers' career, when they become critical to military retention, Admiral Pilling said.During meetings May 10 with service leaders, committee members heard "a range of views about specific changes" in the compensation package, all to be considered during the committee's deliberations, he said.But one particular message came through loud and clear. "All asked for an architecture that allows flexibility rather than mandatory changes in compensation," Admiral Pilling said.Flexibility will be a key goal as the military undergoes its longest period of sustained conflict since the all-volunteer force was conceived in the early 1970s, he said.The committee plans to present Secretary Rumsfeld an interim report of its recommendations by late September and the final report in April 2006, officials said. The next of its public meetings is scheduled for June 7.