DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE—MILITARY PROGRAMS

ACTIVE AND RESERVE FORCES

These appropriations finance the personnel costs of the Active, Reserve, and Guard forces of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. They include pay and allowances of officers, enlisted personnel, cadets and midshipmen, permanent change of station travel, inactive duty and active duty training, accruing retirement and health benefits, enlistment, reenlistment and affiliation bonuses, special and incentive pays, and other personnel costs. Over the past decade, significant pay increases, coupled with new requirements to accrue funds for future health benefits, have significantly increased the requirements of these appropriations and have substantially improved the military compensation package to very competitive levels for attracting and retaining the best and brightest to fill the All-Volunteer Force.

The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 114–92) enacted substantial changes to the current military retirement system. The new retirement system, scheduled to take effect January 1, 2018, is a blend of several components to include a defined retired pay benefit, a defined contribution with the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), and a bonus (continuation pay) paid to the member to maintain Service retention requirements. Currently serving members will remain grandfathered under the current retirement system. The Budget includes a proposal to amend the new blended retirement system to address military department priorities to include flexibility in the payment of continuation pay, the TSP matching percentage, the TSP matching start date, and when the TSP matching contributions terminate.

Against this backdrop of a healthy and very competitive compensation package and facing a significantly constrained fiscal environment, much work has been done to explore how to balance the rate of growth in military pay and benefit costs and individual compensation responsibly, fairly, and effectively. Included in these accounts is funding for a 1.6 percent across-the-board pay raise for all pay grades. Even with this modest increase, military salaries, as defined by Regular Military Compensation, which includes basic pay, a tax-free allowance for housing or the value of in-kind housing, a tax-free allowance for subsistence (food), and the tax savings because these allowances are tax free, will continue to grow and will average more than $59,500 for enlisted personnel and more than $109,500 for officers in 2017. Many military personnel also receive one-time or yearly bonuses, monthly special pays, other allowances, and significant non-cash benefits, including comprehensive health care.

The Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (P.L. 108–375) provided permanent, indefinite appropriations to finance the cost of accruing TRICARE benefits of uniformed servicemembers. These costs are included in the DOD discretionary total.

The Budget includes a proposal to implement annual enrollment fees for the TRICARE-for-Life (TFL) program for Medicare-eligible retirees, phased in over a 4-year period. The Budget also includes a proposal which further adjusts the prescription pharmacy co-payments over a 9-year period for active duty families and all retirees. In addition to discretionary savings in the Defense Health Program, the proposal reduces future accrual costs, resulting in reduced Services' discretionary contributions to the Medicare Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund.

The following summary table reflects the actual base and supplemental 2016 amounts and the base 2017 military personnel appropriation request and the additional amounts for TRICARE accrual funded from permanent, indefinite authority. Total base 2017 military personnel requirements are $135,269 million.

MILITARY PERSONNEL TOTALS WITH TRICARE ACCRUAL AMOUNTS

ACTIVE FORCES

YEAR-END NUMBER

RESERVE FORCES

The number of National Guard and Reserve personnel estimated to participate in the Selected Reserve training programs and the number of full-time active duty military personnel provided for are summarized in the following table.

YEAR-END NUMBER

The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program provides training for reserve and regular officer candidates who have enrolled in the course while attending a college at which an ROTC unit has been established. College graduates who satisfactorily complete the advanced course of the program are commissioned and may be ordered to active duty for a minimum of three years.

The Reserve Officers' Training Corps Vitalization Act of 1964, as amended, authorizes a limited number of scholarships for ROTC students on a competitive basis. Successful candidates for the scholarships generally serve a minimum period of four years on active duty upon graduation and appointment as a commissioned officer. A number of scholarship recipients will fulfill their entire obligation in the Reserve components.

The Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program provides a source of active duty commissioned officers for the various health professions.

The numbers of commissioned officers graduated from these programs are summarized below:

Federal Funds

For pay, allowances, individual clothing, subsistence, interest on deposits, gratuities, permanent change of station travel (including all expenses thereof for organizational movements), and expenses of temporary duty travel between permanent duty stations, for members of the Army on active duty (except members of reserve components provided for elsewhere), cadets, and aviation cadets; for members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps; and for payments pursuant to section 156 of Public Law 97–377, as amended (42 U.S.C. 402 note), and to the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund, [$41,045,562,000]$40,028,182,000. (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016.)

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For pay, allowances, individual clothing, subsistence, interest on deposits, gratuities, permanent change of station travel (including all expenses thereof for organizational movements), and expenses of temporary duty travel between permanent duty stations, for members of the Navy on active duty (except members of the Reserve provided for elsewhere), midshipmen, and aviation cadets; for members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps; and for payments pursuant to section 156 of Public Law 97–377, as amended (42 U.S.C. 402 note), and to the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund, [$27,835,183,000]$27,951,605,000. (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016.)

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For pay, allowances, individual clothing, subsistence, interest on deposits, gratuities, permanent change of station travel (including all expenses thereof for organizational movements), and expenses of temporary duty travel between permanent duty stations, for members of the Marine Corps on active duty (except members of the Reserve provided for elsewhere); and for payments pursuant to section 156 of Public Law 97–377, as amended (42 U.S.C. 402 note), and to the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund, [$12,859,152,000]$12,813,412,000. (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016.)

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For pay, allowances, individual clothing, subsistence, interest on deposits, gratuities, permanent change of station travel (including all expenses thereof for organizational movements), and expenses of temporary duty travel between permanent duty stations, for members of the Air Force on active duty (except members of reserve components provided for elsewhere), cadets, and aviation cadets; for members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps; and for payments pursuant to section 156 of Public Law 97–377, as amended (42 U.S.C. 402 note), and to the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund, [$27,679,066,000]$27,944,615,000. (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016.)

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For pay, allowances, clothing, subsistence, gratuities, travel, and related expenses for personnel of the Army Reserve on active duty under sections 10211, 10302, and 3038 of title 10, United States Code, or while serving on active duty under section 12301(d) of title 10, United States Code, in connection with performing duty specified in section 12310(a) of title 10, United States Code, or while undergoing reserve training, or while performing drills or equivalent duty or other duty, and expenses authorized by section 16131 of title 10, United States Code; and for payments to the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund, [$4,463,164,000]$4,561,703,000. (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016.)

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For pay, allowances, clothing, subsistence, gratuities, travel, and related expenses for personnel of the Navy Reserve on active duty under section 10211 of title 10, United States Code, or while serving on active duty under section 12301(d) of title 10, United States Code, in connection with performing duty specified in section 12310(a) of title 10, United States Code, or while undergoing reserve training, or while performing drills or equivalent duty, and expenses authorized by section 16131 of title 10, United States Code; and for payments to the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund, [$1,866,891,000]$1,924,155,000. (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016.)

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For pay, allowances, clothing, subsistence, gratuities, travel, and related expenses for personnel of the Marine Corps Reserve on active duty under section 10211 of title 10, United States Code, or while serving on active duty under section 12301(d) of title 10, United States Code, in connection with performing duty specified in section 12310(a) of title 10, United States Code, or while undergoing reserve training, or while performing drills or equivalent duty, and for members of the Marine Corps platoon leaders class, and expenses authorized by section 16131 of title 10, United States Code; and for payments to the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund, [$702,481,000]$744,995,000. (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016.)

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For pay, allowances, clothing, subsistence, gratuities, travel, and related expenses for personnel of the Air Force Reserve on active duty under sections 10211, 10305, and 8038 of title 10, United States Code, or while serving on active duty under section 12301(d) of title 10, United States Code, in connection with performing duty specified in section 12310(a) of title 10, United States Code, or while undergoing reserve training, or while performing drills or equivalent duty or other duty, and expenses authorized by section 16131 of title 10, United States Code; and for payments to the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund, [$1,682,942,000]$1,742,906,000. (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016.)

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