NDAA: Junior Enlisted Could See a 19.5 Percent Pay Raise

The FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) made it out of the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday night, and there are some really attractive bits in there if one is junior enlisted or looking to join up. Quality of life for servicemembers, a bipartisan interest in a Congress as closely divided as the 118th, is the focus of the NDAA, and it’s about time. Dilapidated barracks with mold and other infestations, military families requiring food stamps to get by, and a basic-needs allowance program for which needy families successfully qualified for 0.8 percent of the time have been embarrassing episodes for the armed services that are not well-equipped to manage things that aren’t materiel.

Committee chairman Mike Rogers (R., Ala.) summarized the bill for National Review:

About the Author

Luther Ray Abel

Luther Ray Abel is an Associate Editor for National Review. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Luther is a proud native of Sheboygan, Wis.

Featured Tags

The FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) made it out of the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday night, and there are some really attractive bits in there if one is junior enlisted or looking to join up. Quality of life for servicemembers, a bipartisan interest in a Congress as closely divided as the 118th, is the focus of the NDAA, and it’s about time. Dilapidated barracks with mold and other infestations, military families requiring food stamps to get by, and a basic-needs allowance program for which needy families successfully qualified for 0.8 percent of the time have been embarrassing episodes for the armed services that are not well-equipped to manage things that aren’t materiel.

Committee chairman Mike Rogers (R., Ala.) summarized the bill for National Review: