One of Ours

The U.S. Army is setting records for getting new recruits to join up, and getting people already in to re-enlist. But there are serious problems with some key personnel who are being attracted to higher paying, and less dangerous, jobs in the civilian world. Special Forces troops, helicopter pilots, linguists and computer specialists are among the key people who are being recruited heavily by civilian firms. Offers of higher pay, less dangerous working conditions, and less time overseas, are proving attractive.

The army is considering extra pay, especially for overseas service, plus additional civilian education and higher rank to keep Special Forces troops in uniform...It would require Congressional action to allow the army to add hundreds, or thousands, of new Warrant Officer positions for senior Special Forces troops. This move would increase the pay of senior Special Forces operators by about a third. Other bonuses could increase the bump to 50 or 100 percent. SOCOM commanders will have to calculate how much they can afford to pay. But given the fact that a Special Forces operator with twenty years service has cost the army several million dollars in pay and training expenses, and two decades of effort, there is an incentive to do a whole lot to hang onto these guys...