Military Personnel: DOD Needs More Data to Address Financial and Health Care Issues Affecting Reservists

摘要

DOD lacks sufficient information on the magnitude, the causes, and the effects of income change to determine the need for compensation programs targeting reservists who (1) fill critical wartime specialties, (2) experience high degrees of income loss when on extended periods of active duty, and (3) demonstrate that income loss is a significant factor in their retention decisions. Such data are critical for assessing the full nature and scope of income change problems and in developing cost-effective solutions. DOD self-reported survey data from past and current military operations indicate that activated reservists have experienced widely varying degrees of income change. While many reservists lost income, more than half of reservists had either no change or a gain in income. However, survey data are questionable primarily because it is unclear what survey respondents considered as income loss or gain in determining their financial status.