Defense Department Proposing 1-Percent Pay Raise For Service Members

Service members at Joint Base Lewis-McChord could soon see a slight bump in pay if the Department of Defense's proposed 1-percent pay raise is approved.

DOD is proposing the raise for the 2014 calendar year as part of its defense budget package it's asking from Congress.

In a statement released from the Pentagon, Press Secretary George Little said the bump is less than department previously projected but still allows the department, "to maintain critical investments in readiness and modernization going forward."

The proposal still provides a pay raise for U.S. forces, "in an era of slowing defense spending," he said.

In addition to the pay increase, he said, the department will maintain important benefits for active duty service members and families, including housing and subsistence allowances, special pay, tuition assistance, health care, commissaries, child care and youth development programs and military retirement benefits.

"Given the current budget environment, this pay raise is less than previously projected but allows the Department to maintain critical investments in readiness and modernization going forward," Little said. "Department leaders preserved an increase in compensation as part of a balanced approach to future defense budgets that ensures service members are fully equipped, trained, and supported."