At this juncture, the pressure of the sequester and finding cost savings threaten another area of critical military spending: compensation and benefits. Having already placed heavy burdens on commanders and forces, this pressure to find savings threatens to pass America’s budgetary woes to individual DOD employees in and out of uniform, writes Anthony A. Wallis in Roll Call.

Particular scrutiny of military compensation and benefits has come under the purview of the newly created Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, created by the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. Names of the chairman, the Honorable Alphonso Maldon Jr., and commission members were released in June. The commission is tasked with ensuring, “long-term viability of the All-Volunteer Force . . . [and] to enable the quality of life . . . [while] achieving fiscal sustainability.”

Although the particular mission of this commission seems productive on its own, the fact that it has been directed to look into the “fiscal sustainability” indicates DOD benefits might be on the chopping block should the sequester continue and pressure mount to find more cost savings.