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Junior enlisted service members will see a 14.5% pay increase in the next year, in the latest effort to address cost of living concerns and boost enlistment and retention inside the ranks.
The pay boost comes as part of a deal by the Senate and House Armed Services Committees to finalize policies in the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2025. The negotiated deal, announced on Saturday, Dec. 7, reconciles differing policy points in the $883.7 billion defense act, including topics pertaining to pay and housing.
According to the new language, all troops are set for a pay increase, with base pay going up by 4.5%. Additionally, junior enlisted troops (E-1s to E-4s), who will see an additional 10% increase to their base pay, effective April 1, 2025.
The House defense bill had originally called for the 4.5% increase for all service members, with an additional 15% increase for E1s to E4s, which would have led to a nearly 20% boost in pay. The negotiated deal isn’t as generous, but if approved by Congress would see the lowest ranking members of the military pocket a substantially larger income. For junior enlisted troops, it could see them earn several thousands more per year; depending on service and their time in the ranks, many lower ranking enlisted troops earn less than $30,000 in base pay.
The “Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025” overall base pay increase is not as high as the previous year’s 5.2% bump, but the additional hike for the lower ranks is significant. The combined rate increases will bring in between $3,000-$6,000 dollars, depending on certain factors and could give some E-4s more than $40,000 in base pay.
Alongside base pay increases, other measures in the massive defense act cover matters tied to the cost of living. The deal calls for the construction of new family housing across the military branches, as well as for improvements to existing units. Approximately $1.8 billion will be directed towards construction and maintenance.
A House Armed Services Committee panel had previously recommended the 15% pay increase for junior enlisteds, as part of its bipartisan report into the costs of living challenges that troops face. Although military pay has increased year over year between 2020-2024, service members’ salaries have not kept pace with the increase in inflation.
Military personnel and their families have been struggling with rising costs. Governmental and outside studies have noted rising food insecurity, rising wait times for childcare and aging, damaged barracks with mold and other problems. The military has tried individual programs to try and address these issues, but this service-wide pay increase is one of the most substantial ones.
The final National Defense Authorization Act still is pending full Congressional approval. The annual bill covers several security authorizations, as well as revisions and increases to existing programs. Congress is expected to vote on the NDAA before the end of the year.
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Nicholas Slayton is a Contributing Editor for Task & Purpose. In addition to covering breaking news, he writes about history, shipwrecks, and the military’s hunt for unidentified anomalous phenomenon (formerly known as UFOs).
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Junior enlisted troops set to receive major pay increase in 2025 – Task & Purpose
