... making lieutenants and captains equivalents ... making all journeyman soldiers into corporals. Don't get me wrong: his heart was in the right place - we (me when I served and you today) are all financially better of for what he did.
Maybe. Maybe he would have done us a better service to introduce a "Master Private" (or PFC) instead of the instant corporal promotion?
Given the changes that were made, what is the effect the every time someone takes a close look the military work in comparison to civilian counterparts for the purpose of setting pay? Has the insta-cpl diluted the value of the rank such that the pay increment gained back then will eventually be eroded away? What will be the impact on Capt pay where at the lower end it is effectively the same as Lt? Will we see (as exists at the MCpl appointment level) the top incentive at one level being higher than the bottom incentive at the level one-up? I know our current structure has been in place for a very long time now, so maybe I am worrying for nothing ... but, when was the last time military ranks were compared to the PS in order to benchmark the pay?
If this is a potential real boogeyman on the horizon, then maybe we want to take a look at our structure before that happens - to set ourselves for success. I have previously suggested (although 50% tounge-in-cheek) that we move to a
new system that does away with insta-ranks.
