Publication

This report presents a methodology for reforming the military compensation system based on a quantitative understanding of service members' preferences. Solutions to the rising personnel costs are abundant, but existing studies have largely focused on inputs—the costs of different forms of military compensation. Many studies thus recommend changes to the compensation system that reflect the value judgments of the authors rather than the 1.5 million who serve on active duty. The purpose of this study is to provide hard data on how service member value different types of compensation and thus to offer an evidence-based approach to re-balancing the military compensation system.