Filling the Ranks: Transforming the U.S. Military Personnel System

Overview

“This book adds value to the profession far beyond the positions that the authors take and the recommendations made for changes in the active and reserve forces. It is an excellent summary of the current personnel management system and the issues confronting it. Military personnel managers at every level should add it to their bookshelves. For them, it is a reminder of and resource for fulfilling their responsibilities in manning the current and future force. For the decisionmaker and more general professional, it is an essential resource for understanding the history and practice of personnel management in the US military, as well as a practical overview of the current problems confronting the system and potential solutions for them.”

— Rich Yarger, Ph.D., Professor of National Security Strategy, US Army War College,  in Parameters: US Army War College Quarterly, Summer 2005, Vol. XXXV, No. 2

The war in Iraq and the problematic military occupation of that country have called into question the adequacy of America's all-volunteer force. Politicians and others have expressed doubts about its equity and capability; some have called for the reinstatement of the draft. Yet over the past twenty years the all-volunteer military has become a technologically advanced force that has contributed to America's overall military advantage. This book analyzes current military pay and personnel policies and identifies changes needed to maintain and improve America's all-volunteer force.

Filling the Ranks argues that to attract qualified and motivated volunteers, the armed forces need to offer better tangible inducements — pay, benefits, and training — to accompany such intangible rewards as pride in serving one's country. Many of the policies related to tangible rewards were established shortly after World War II and are no longer effective. Filling the Ranks presents detailed assessments of U.S. military pay and personnel policies in light of the strategic, demographic, economic, and labor realities of the future. It identifies specific problems that today's military career patterns, training, pay, and benefits pose for officers and enlisted men and women in both active duty and reserve forces, discussing such issues as competition with the private sector for talent, the need to restructure compensation, and provision of family support. It offers recommendations for more flexible, adaptive, and effective policies and a blueprint for achieving them.

Read the June 3, 2004, Military Update discussion of Filling the Ranks

Read the September 15, 2004, Government Executive Magazine article

Read the October 5, 2004, Washington Post op-ed

The war in Iraq and the problematic military occupation of that country have called into question the adequacy of America's all-volunteer force. Politicians and others have expressed doubts about its equity and capability; some have called for the reinstatement of the draft. Yet over the past twenty years the all-volunteer military has become a technologically advanced force that has contributed to America's overall military advantage. This book analyzes current military pay and personnel policies and identifies changes needed to maintain and improve America's all-volunteer force.

Filling the Ranks argues that to attract qualified and motivated volunteers, the armed forces need to offer better tangible inducements -- pay, benefits, and training -- to accompany such intangible rewards as pride in serving one's country. Many of the policies related to tangible rewards were established shortly after World War II and are no longer effective. Filling the Ranks presents detailed assessments of US military pay and personnel policies in light of the strategic, demographic, economic, and labor realities of the future. It identifies specific problems that today's military career patterns, training, pay, and benefits pose for officers and enlisted men and women in both active duty and reserve forces, discussing such issues as competition with the private sector for talent, the need to restructure compensation, and provision of family support. It offers recommendations for more flexible, adaptive, and effective policies and a blueprint for achieving them.

Cindy Williams is a principal research scientist in the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She formerly served as Assistant Director for National Security in the Congressional Budget Office. She is the editor of Holding the Line: U.S. Defense | Alternatives for the Early 21st Century.