Noteboom The Law Firm

Current Military Spending Habits an Unsustainable Trend

August 12, 2010 - With more veterans than ever returning from deployments, the cost of supporting those veterans is rising. Both current and former military leaders as well as executives from the defense industry believe these rising costs affect the capability of the military services.

Two advisory groups came to equivalent findings last month regarding what needs to be done in order to maintain our fighting force, which were consistent with the findings of the Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel (QDRIP). The groups' final recommendations will be presented in October. Their recommendations focus on two general ideas:  

• Make military retirees pay more out-of-pocket for their health care benefits; and
• New retirement, compensation, and promotion systems must be designed.

According to the QDRIP, if medical costs are not curbed, everything the veterans fought for will be harmed. The new retirement, compensation, and promotion systems are so critically in need of replacement, the panel believes Congress should establish a new National Commission on Military Personnel to take the lead on the project.

The changes being recommended are not an immediate fix. These are the types of changes that take decades to implement. There are two reasons for this. First, current military personnel cannot be affected by retirement, pay, or promotion changes. Second, military benefits cannot be rapidly expanded without causing more spending problems.

Individual costs for military benefits have grown substantially because of current spending habits, which have rapidly expanded military entitlements. The panel found this trend is one that much be curbed because current spending habits, according to the panel, are an "unsustainable trend."