Should base pay be dictated by career field?

SrA Zachary Bolling — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 08:59:51 -0500

Should an E-5 admin troop have the same base pay as an E-5 in a combat oriented field such as infantry or maybe even special forces?

This was a discussion while I was in. Would it make sense to pay different career fields differently or have a monthly bonus?

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2014 9:09 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 09:09:48 -0500

In all honestly it balances out. I know in the Army an Infantry Soldier can make E-8 in 12-14 years whereas an Admin Soldier may not see E-7 until 16-20 years. So I think the promotions balance out the pay differential. Combat Arms MOSs seem to have faster promotion rates and lower cut-off scores for E5/6. 

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2014 9:11 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 09:11:42 -0500

special forces are already getting specialty pay, so why change base pay, thats why its BASE PAY
every job has its perks, they don't always equate to monetary value but hey, can't have everything.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Feb 24 at 2014 9:51 AM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 09:51:39 -0500

I'd be cautious with this train of thought for the following reason; who decides what the most important fields are?

I can make the argument that, unless we are actively at war, grunts are useless. A mechanic will be doing his job regardless of whether we are at war. Same with Admin guys, Recruiters, Drills, Supply, etc... A grunt however does nothing but train and absorb resources while not deployed. And even then, the bulk of outside the wire activity is being done by Logisticians, not grunts.

If we are going to tailor pay with usefulness or MOS field, combat arms may end up unhappy..

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2014 1:35 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 13:35:19 -0500

I have been Combat Arms, Service Support and now Combat Support. Three different MOS's. I never thought that I deserved more pay for doing one of those jobs over another. As a 42A, admin, I spent more time outside the wire as a gunner than when I was Combat Arms. I know I wouldn't have been happy if the Soldiers I was rolling with were getting paid more while I was in the turret providing over watch, as admin.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2014 1:54 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 13:54:27 -0500

The Army is going to pay what it needs to pay to meet quotas and shape the force. We already have monetary incentives to drive people to career fields with shortages in the form of bonuses, and we also have other incentives (such as schools and assignments). Adjusting pay for different specialties would only cause more problems than it would solve.

Response by SGT Michael Little made Feb 24 at 2014 4:35 PM

SGT Michael Little — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 16:35:58 -0500

There is no debate really on base pay. It is what it is. It's up to the soldier to strive to go to a field that has incentive pay like SF, Jump, or Recruiter. When in Iraq, we had Admin Specialists doing route clearance so no, no need to change base pay really.

Like in my day of the old Army, doesn't matter what MOS you are that's non-combat. In war, your all grunts!

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2014 5:02 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 17:02:07 -0500

There are certain countries around the world that have several different pay scales depending not only on rank and time of service, but also the job that they are in as well. The one that I am most familiar with off the top of my head would be the Australian Army.

Just as an example, a E-7 Communications Soldier with 15-18 years in service (roughly) would get paid a base pay of about $65k a year. Another Soldier of the same rank and time in service, but serving as a SAS Commando has a base pay of around $97k a year.

Comparatively, they have similar additional benefits, such as jump pay, various hazardous duty pays and additional duty pays, though there are other additional pays as well. An active static line jumpmaster receives additional pay while serving in a para regiment.

Response by SMSgt Lawrence McCarter made Oct 28 at 2016 2:36 AM

SMSgt Lawrence McCarter — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 02:36:45 -0400

I don't think base pay should be different for any service. There are however jobs that require certain skills and an extra pay bonus may be merited for some of those. I don't think any pay division based on job is a good idea but I'm not opposed to extra compensation for skills that You use.