Officer/ Enlisted pay question?

Question

Recently I asked a question about why Officers get paid more. And for the most part the replies were, "Officers get paid more because they are sacrificing a prosperous civilian career." Well I know alot of Enlisted people that have degrees, arent they sacrificing too? My question is do you think there should be a pay supplement for those Enlisted people? Similar to a COLA allowance.

Alot of you people didnt see that the Enlisted people iam referring to is those with degrees. Not "across the board" as on fellow said. Some Enlisted people that have degrees just dont want to be Officers. Should that be held aganist them?

Answer 1

If you set aside the 'burden of command' as an issue the sad truth is: there is no logical reason rank and file officers should be paid more. Specialists like Doctors, Lawyers, Pilots should be paid more but then, as you've mentioned, there are enlisted people who have advanced degrees that are grossly underpaid for what they do as well. The system we have just hasn't caught up with the times and is a reflection of the social reality of the 18/19th centuries.

Answer 2

Responsibility. An NCO gives directives. Those are instructions to get orders done. Officers give orders. That means that its the officer's neck if something goes wrong. That is also why it is different regs in the UCMJ for disobeying an officer's order instead of a NCO's directive. Officer's are responsible for everything that goes on in that unit. For example, officer's have to write the letters home when someone dies, because they are the ones that make the decesion that allowed it to happen. The other part is that officer's skill are highly marketable since they are generally younger compared to the NCOs of the same responsibility. So an officer can leave and get a high paying job because they are young and have the management experence. An NCO has some marketability, but since they are generally older, the officers have a big edge in the civilian world. If you compare, you will see that a Lieutenant generally makes the same amount as a E7. There is getting to be a descripency now since a lot of E7's are getting promoted earlier, before the time in service and a LT were close. That trend was started in the 80's and continues today to even out the same management level. Also, enlisted have bonuses are re-up where only specialied officers, such as doctors get bonuses. I have seen some bonuses for the right MOS that equal a LTs yearly pay.

Answer 3

Officers get paid more because on paper they have more responsibility. Think of them as the management (paper pushers) while NCOs are first line supervisors. There is no doubt that enlisted personnel do the overwhelming majority of the work and at least in my mind, half the officers only make things more difficult and inefficient but that is the way life goes. A LT making more than an SFC with 10 yrs is a bit messed up in my opinion but again that is life. A lot of enlisted personnel have college degrees as well but then I was never able to figure out how a person was truly more qualified to lead (be an officer) just because they had a degree in Phys Ed (I had a company commander whose degree this was). Having 6 yrs of college, I feel no more qualified to lead than I was at age 20 with a degree from Life University specializing in farm work and soldiering = )
I am more concerned about double standards like the LT who told multiple MARRIED couples they could not spend the night in their spouses barracks while she had different men sleeping over at her place all the time when I was in Korea 11 yrs ago. That is the stuff that bothers me but when you give a 22 yr old that kind of power when they just came out of college that crap will happen. A 22 yr old enlisted person will have soldiered for 4 yrs and be far more responsible in most cases

Answer 4

Officers are paid more because the position they hold has a higher responsibility then the enlisted by the book. Nothing to do with giving up a better job or not. I know most senior NCO's have in reality and practice more responsibility for running the section, unit or "show" then some officers but at the end of the day the officer is the person legally responsible for the actions. Enlisted with college degrees who do not want to be an officer have made a personal choice and during my time in I never heard "I have a degree so should be paid more..."' . They chose to get a degree, they chose to stay in and they chose to stay enlisted so everything to do with that is something they chose so no they shouldn't be given a supplement based on what they want or decided to do.

Answer 5

It's all based upon levels and degrees of responsibility. Have you encountered EMs that don't rise about E-6 because they don't want the "added BS"? How about those that are coasting until they hit 20 years?

Officers can't coast until retirement or remain O-3s because they don't want the "added BS". I saw several O-3s (commonly in staff positions at ROTC units) who had been passed over twice for promotion and were forced to get out.

About the only alternative to the current system is to only commission officers from the enlisted ranks. But then do you only commission those EMs with college degrees? How will people w/o degrees fare at the various staff and command schools that officers later attend? Will a commissioned E-4 with 4 years in be that much better an officer than someone just out of college/academy/OCS? If you only commission senior enlisted, will age have a greater impact on the senior officer ranks?

There has to be a system and there has to be criteria. If you have a degree or are an outstanding EM, accept the greater responsibility of an officer and receive the pay.

Answer 6

Officers are paid more simply because they are officers.
AS to whether or not they deserve it, only some of them do;

I remember the many boot lieutenants that showed up at our base camp in Vietnam. Some were not only intelligent, but had common sense.
Others were arrogant and cocky just because they thought officers were better then enlisted. They often were sent home either injured or in a body bag and often got good enlisted people killed.
While their job is to lead, many don't have the common sense for it. You can train them, but it's still a trait that only comes natural to some.

As to pay, and enlisted with the rank of E-9 makes more than a Captain, so the pay scale is somewhat balanced.

Answer 7

While it might be a good idea I don't think it will happen,.
The fact is that many NCO's have master degrees people and have chosen to serve as NCO's because they don't want to put up with the political crap the officer's do or to make a difference to those of lesser rank! Does that make them less of a person or less deserving of a decent paycheck? Don't think so. The rank systym in the military is NOT the same as that in a major corp. no matter what anyone says - it is simply in place so that the systym will work in time of war. Most LT's-Majors don't know nearly as much about the way things work/should work as their NCO's and the SMART ones depend on them. When it works it's a beautiful thing when it doesn't it's hell! The best officer's are those who are prior enlisted by the way not those with a"degree" or "training".
Everyone who serves in the military sacrifices.

Answer 8

While NCO's are the working stiffs in the military the officers are the decision makers and the ultimately the one responsible for those decisions that were made.
Now, this does not mean that the officer do not use an NCO as a fall guy when the **** hits the fan.
Officers have been written into privilege after coming out of their so called training.
Once an officer becomes a Captain then they have done something.
I have been around 2nd and 1st Lt's that could not tie their shoe without a Field Manual.
Their is no supplemental that I know of for Enlisted. The one thing that is a positive about working toward your degree is that it will help you in your board points and therefore assist you in moving up in rank.
Good Luck

Answer 9

I think a pay supplement for critical skillsets within the Enlisted community is a great idea (we're already doing this with linguists for example), but I do not think it would be a good idea for an "across-the-board" pay raise for all Enlisted because let's face it...some of the jobs really aren't that difficult. If every is paid more money all of a sudden, where's the financial incentive to better oneself and maintain a quality force? Officers aren't being paid more because they're giving up a better-paying civilian job...they're being paid more because they've proven dedication by completing the required level of secondary education coupled with increased responsibility for the lives and well-being of the Enlisted body. Yes, Enlisted people are making sacrifices, but that doesn't warrant a level of increased pay that closer matches an Officer.

Answer 10

It give the enlisted person the incentive to move up. What are your priority's? If i get the education and I'm exposed to certain thing I take on the responsibility that comes with the territory, or I can stay were I'm at and still pull just a meager amount to get by on. Do I want to do better or not, do I have a family to look after or not, do I want to live under a bridge or in a house were it is warm and dry?