Troops Are Paid Fairly, But Differently, Study Shows

In 2006, that officer would have had an income of $66,000 in pay and non-taxable cash allowances. The officer would need to earn at least $72,000 in the private sector "in order to have the same take-home pay," she said.

"Virtually every private-sector company, if it offers benefits, makes sure people understand what the benefits are worth," Eakle said. "In the Department of Defense, we have not done that very well, if at all."

The study recommends that the Pentagon adopt the more comprehensive approach to measuring military compensation. But the troops may be skeptical of the idea.

Cindy Williams, a research scientist in the security studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the department already provides members of the armed forces with an annual explanation of their compensation. But, she noted, "I have heard military families refer to that as the 'lie sheet.' "

"The fact is that the structure of military pay is so different from the structure of pay in the private sector, that it is very difficult for people serving in the military to understand just what their pay is," Williams said.

Steven P. Strobridge, director of government relations at the Military Officers Association of America, agreed that the annual compensation statement "upsets military people," especially those who are repeatedly deployed overseas and feel they are making sacrifices, financially and emotionally.

"When anyone says we need to educate people on what a good deal they have, you have to be careful," he said.

The association prefers that Congress stick with its practice of providing annual raises that slowly but steadily narrow the difference in military and private-sector average wages, rather than "fuzz the issues" by assigning values to military benefits, Strobridge said.

Based on the Labor Department's employment cost index for measuring wage growth, he said that military personnel would need a 6.8 percent pay raise next year to catch up with the private sector.

The White House has proposed a 3.4 percent military pay raise in 2009, but Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) has introduced a bill calling for 3.9 percent. Key House leaders have signaled that they want to provide more than what the White House requested but have not said how much more.

Eakle said the study shows, however, that any debate should not be about a pay gap and whether it exists. "That is really not looking at the big picture," she said. "It's not about pay comparability as much as being able to do a true comparison to the private sector."

Stephen Barr's e-mail address isbarrs@washpost.com.