A Better Way to Give Pay Raises to Junior Enlisted? Key Senator Says It's Under Consideration This Year.

Reforms to junior enlisted pay will be among the Senate Armed Services Committee's considerations when it debates its annual defense policy bill in the coming months, the committee's chairman said Monday.

Speaking to reporters during a Defense Writers Group conference call, Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., said his panel is considering whether there is a "better model" to boost pay for lower-ranking service members than the annual across-the-board raises.

"I think we're looking at not only incentive pay, but the idea of whether all of our pay increases have to be uniform across every rank, basically. Is there a better model? And we'll be looking at that to determine if there is a better model," Reed said in response to a question from Military.com.