There are numerous earnings and leave inequalities between different military service branches—specifically the deployed forces of the Navy and Air Force assigned to the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility—that must be rectified. While assigned to Central Command, Navy and Air Force personnel receive the following pay entitlements, assuming the member has less than two years of service, no dependents, equal amounts of monthly allowance for housing, and a 30-day month (see Table 1).
Both services receive equal basic pay, basic allowance for subsistence (BAS), combat zone tax exclusion, and hostile fire pay. The disparity lies in meal rates, per diem, and hardship duty pay.
Enlisted sailors on board U.S. ships relinquish $198 per month in BAS to purchase meals while deployed. Naval officers receive BAS but must pay a monthly wardroom mess bill, on average about $200 per month (note: BAS does not compensate mess payment). Conversely, since October 1994, Air Force personnel deployed (temporary duty) to Central Command locations have been authorized to receive BAS and have been entitled to a $3.50-- per-day per them for incidental expenses.
The bottom line: Navy personnel are required to pay for meals while Air Force service members eat for free and receive per diem. To add to the inequity, Air Force enlisted personnel also earn hardship duty pay. All told, embarked Navy enlisted personnel attached to Central Command will make 26% less than their shore-based Air Force counterparts. Naval officers embarked can expect to earn 10% less than their Air Force brethren. The entitlement numbers speak for themselves—there is absolutely no continuity between services in this regard. These inequities are not isolated to Central Command and the Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) battle group in which I served. Deployed sailors worldwide are subjected to undue monetary hardship every time their ships pull away from the pier. The solution is simple: pay for the meals of deployed sailors.
Equally discouraging is the inequitable apportionment of leave. Following a typical 180-day deployment, commanding officers in the Navy are restricted in granting special liberty to a maximum of four days. After a typical 90-day temporary duty, Air Force members (at commander's discretion) receive 14 days of uncharged leave taken within the local area for compensatory time. Navy personnel deserve the same leave privileges that their counterparts in sister services are afforded.
I have served proudly in the U.S. military for the past nine years. During my current three-year tour with my squadron, I have left my wife and children twice for six-month deployments to the Arabian Gulf. I enjoy the professionalism, lifestyle, and camaraderie the U.S. Navy offers. This analysis, however, begs the question: is the Navy leadership really taking care of its sailors? The men and women standing watch on board naval vessels deserve much more than they are receiving now. With the implementation of these basic initiatives, morale and retention will be improved greatly among deployed sailors around the world.
Lieutenant Lamar is a naval flight officer attached to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 113, recently deployed on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in support of Operation Southern Watch.