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The Pentagon is falling short on efforts to keep elite special forces units at full strength and now is fighting back dollar by dollar, offering up to $150,000 bonuses to commandos to keep high-paying private security firms from cherry-picking the teams.
Special operations units such as the Green Berets and Navy SEALs are running slightly below their authorized strength, in part because private firms are luring away those troops for work in Iraq and elsewhere by tripling or quadrupling their pay, military officials said.
So the Pentagon this month announced a $168-million, three-year plan to sweeten the pot of pay and bonuses to retain special forces members on active duty. The most experienced commandos can earn bonuses ranging from $18,000 for staying an additional two years up to $150,000 for a six-year re-enlistment.
The six-figure bonuses follow a recent Army trend of bumping up cash payouts to stem declining recruitment as Iraq war deployments stretch on and multiply. But these bonuses far outstrip what is available to most re-enlisting soldiers, who can earn up to $40,000 in bonuses.
Military officials seeing a drop in special-forces retention say they have little choice but to compete in the marketplace with companies like Blackwater Security Consulting and Halliburton, who advertise on their Web sites to recruit employees with U.S. special forces training.
The retention problems come as the Pentagon is leaning on special forces like never before, with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld turning to commandos to carry out missions in this new type of war, where counterterrorism and counterinsurgency predominate.
In addition, the Pentagon's 2006 budget proposal calls for increasing the current special forces by 1,200 military and 200 civilians. There are about 49,000 people in U.S. special forces today.
Yet some special operations branches already can't meet their authorized strength. The Navy SEALs have only 89 percent of the enlisted personnel they're supposed to have, Raines said, while an Army spokesman said the Green Berets are running at about 98 percent of expected strength.
Special forces officials note that the units in the past have operated below authorized strength because of the difficulty in finding recruits who can meet the rigorous standards, such as a 63-week Green Beret training course. Shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Green Berets were at 94 percent strength.
But special forces commanders now are sounding the alarm. They worry that their forces could become overstretched if they cannot counter the dip in re-enlistments, particularly among some members reaching the traditional 20-year retirement mark. They are the ones eligible for the highest bonuses.
The average enlisted special forces soldier makes $35,000 to $50,000 annually. The Pentagon's incentive package also would increase special duty pay for certain jobs to $375 a month and offer members with 25 years' service another $750 a month to stay at least an extra year.
Blackwater, based in North Carolina, and Halliburton, based in Texas, don't disguise their desire to lure the highly trained special-forces graduates for security work. Blackwater is a private security company that provides protection for dignitaries, among other duties. Halliburton provides services to U.S. military personnel in Iraq and is not a security company per se, but officials there say the company hires security personnel to consult on safety measures.
Some military commanders have expressed worries that such high bonuses can distort the nature of the all-volunteer force and lead to a "mercenary" culture. Current and former special forces officials deny that, saying the realities of the marketplace dictate that the Pentagon must do what it can to hold onto these troops against the lure of bigger paychecks on the outside.
And now for the SAS to get into the money
The number of SAS troopers leaving for lucrative jobs in the security industry has prompted the regiment to write to all soldiers urging them to stay.
A letter from the regiment's headquarters has told all the SAS's 300 front-line soldiers that "it would be in everyone's best interests" if they remained in service.
An estimated 120 former Special Air Service and Special Boat Service troops have left, swapping a junior NCO's wage of about £2,000 a month for as much as £14,000 a month working as security co-ordinators in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The letter is said to have told soldiers to consider their loyalty to the regiment and the kudos of being in the SAS.
"This has always been an issue," an SAS soldier said yesterday. "It is not the young ones that they are worried about but the senior NCOs who are so important. If they lose middle management they lose all that experience for the future and they are desperate to keep that experience there."
One former 22 SAS soldier now working in security estimated that 120 former Special Forces men are working for security firms in Iraq. Some are earning £450 a day, or £14,000 a month, working for firms such as Kroll, Controlled Risks and Armour Security.
The former soldier, who had just one week off in his last two years in the SAS, said: "They cannot stop people from leaving. The SAS lifestyle is extremely demanding and not really conducive to family life or long-term relationships. On the security circuit you have the potential to earn very high wages combined with an attractive working rotation, invariably one month on, one month off."
While wages, pensions and life insurance have been addressed in recent years, the SAS still has substantial commitments around the world. Workload cannot be addressed, said the former soldier, "because the men are deployed all over the place".
The United States Defence Department has offered its most experienced special forces a bonus of $150,000 ( £80,000) to sign on for six years to stem an exodus to security jobs, it was announced last week.
The two SAS Territorial Army regiments are also experiencing manning problems and weekend training has been threatened due to lack of numbers. Some TA have been granted permission for up to a year's leave of absence but others have left for the private sector.
TA SAS soldiers, who have a similar selection process to their regular colleagues, are obliged to undertake a certain number of days' training a year. With about 120 front-line "sabre" trained troops each, the TA regiments cannot afford to lose many more.
"The TA are struggling with manning, especially 21 SAS," said an SAS insider. "Drill nights and weekend training are especially suffering."
A former TA SAS soldier said: "The regiment is going to find it difficult because sums just don't add up to replace those who have buggered off."
The troop losses are also affecting the northern-based 23 SAS, which does not have the large number of well-paid doctors, lawyers and city workers found in the southern-based 21 SAS.
A senior SAS source said there had been a loss of TA soldiers. He said: "It has not been astronomical or a massive haemorrhaging of talent because a lot of blokes have been deployed operationally anyway," he said. "It has not had a detrimental effect as yet."
An MoD source did not deny that a number of soldiers had left for security jobs.
While it is not MoD policy to comment on Special Forces, a spokesman said the appeal of "operating in elite units of the British Armed forces remains a very strong draw for our most exceptional people". He added: "Members of all TA regiments are entitled to full-time employment of their choice, this is the same for the TA SAS regiments."
Special operations units such as the Green Berets and Navy SEALs are running slightly below their authorized strength, in part because private firms are luring away those troops for work in Iraq and elsewhere by tripling or quadrupling their pay, military officials said.
So the Pentagon this month announced a $168-million, three-year plan to sweeten the pot of pay and bonuses to retain special forces members on active duty. The most experienced commandos can earn bonuses ranging from $18,000 for staying an additional two years up to $150,000 for a six-year re-enlistment.
The six-figure bonuses follow a recent Army trend of bumping up cash payouts to stem declining recruitment as Iraq war deployments stretch on and multiply. But these bonuses far outstrip what is available to most re-enlisting soldiers, who can earn up to $40,000 in bonuses.
Military officials seeing a drop in special-forces retention say they have little choice but to compete in the marketplace with companies like Blackwater Security Consulting and Halliburton, who advertise on their Web sites to recruit employees with U.S. special forces training.
The retention problems come as the Pentagon is leaning on special forces like never before, with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld turning to commandos to carry out missions in this new type of war, where counterterrorism and counterinsurgency predominate.
In addition, the Pentagon's 2006 budget proposal calls for increasing the current special forces by 1,200 military and 200 civilians. There are about 49,000 people in U.S. special forces today.
Yet some special operations branches already can't meet their authorized strength. The Navy SEALs have only 89 percent of the enlisted personnel they're supposed to have, Raines said, while an Army spokesman said the Green Berets are running at about 98 percent of expected strength.
Special forces officials note that the units in the past have operated below authorized strength because of the difficulty in finding recruits who can meet the rigorous standards, such as a 63-week Green Beret training course. Shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Green Berets were at 94 percent strength.
But special forces commanders now are sounding the alarm. They worry that their forces could become overstretched if they cannot counter the dip in re-enlistments, particularly among some members reaching the traditional 20-year retirement mark. They are the ones eligible for the highest bonuses.
The average enlisted special forces soldier makes $35,000 to $50,000 annually. The Pentagon's incentive package also would increase special duty pay for certain jobs to $375 a month and offer members with 25 years' service another $750 a month to stay at least an extra year.
Blackwater, based in North Carolina, and Halliburton, based in Texas, don't disguise their desire to lure the highly trained special-forces graduates for security work. Blackwater is a private security company that provides protection for dignitaries, among other duties. Halliburton provides services to U.S. military personnel in Iraq and is not a security company per se, but officials there say the company hires security personnel to consult on safety measures.
Some military commanders have expressed worries that such high bonuses can distort the nature of the all-volunteer force and lead to a "mercenary" culture. Current and former special forces officials deny that, saying the realities of the marketplace dictate that the Pentagon must do what it can to hold onto these troops against the lure of bigger paychecks on the outside.
And now for the SAS to get into the money
The number of SAS troopers leaving for lucrative jobs in the security industry has prompted the regiment to write to all soldiers urging them to stay.
A letter from the regiment's headquarters has told all the SAS's 300 front-line soldiers that "it would be in everyone's best interests" if they remained in service.
An estimated 120 former Special Air Service and Special Boat Service troops have left, swapping a junior NCO's wage of about £2,000 a month for as much as £14,000 a month working as security co-ordinators in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The letter is said to have told soldiers to consider their loyalty to the regiment and the kudos of being in the SAS.
"This has always been an issue," an SAS soldier said yesterday. "It is not the young ones that they are worried about but the senior NCOs who are so important. If they lose middle management they lose all that experience for the future and they are desperate to keep that experience there."
One former 22 SAS soldier now working in security estimated that 120 former Special Forces men are working for security firms in Iraq. Some are earning £450 a day, or £14,000 a month, working for firms such as Kroll, Controlled Risks and Armour Security.
The former soldier, who had just one week off in his last two years in the SAS, said: "They cannot stop people from leaving. The SAS lifestyle is extremely demanding and not really conducive to family life or long-term relationships. On the security circuit you have the potential to earn very high wages combined with an attractive working rotation, invariably one month on, one month off."
While wages, pensions and life insurance have been addressed in recent years, the SAS still has substantial commitments around the world. Workload cannot be addressed, said the former soldier, "because the men are deployed all over the place".
The United States Defence Department has offered its most experienced special forces a bonus of $150,000 ( £80,000) to sign on for six years to stem an exodus to security jobs, it was announced last week.
The two SAS Territorial Army regiments are also experiencing manning problems and weekend training has been threatened due to lack of numbers. Some TA have been granted permission for up to a year's leave of absence but others have left for the private sector.
TA SAS soldiers, who have a similar selection process to their regular colleagues, are obliged to undertake a certain number of days' training a year. With about 120 front-line "sabre" trained troops each, the TA regiments cannot afford to lose many more.
"The TA are struggling with manning, especially 21 SAS," said an SAS insider. "Drill nights and weekend training are especially suffering."
A former TA SAS soldier said: "The regiment is going to find it difficult because sums just don't add up to replace those who have buggered off."
The troop losses are also affecting the northern-based 23 SAS, which does not have the large number of well-paid doctors, lawyers and city workers found in the southern-based 21 SAS.
A senior SAS source said there had been a loss of TA soldiers. He said: "It has not been astronomical or a massive haemorrhaging of talent because a lot of blokes have been deployed operationally anyway," he said. "It has not had a detrimental effect as yet."
An MoD source did not deny that a number of soldiers had left for security jobs.
While it is not MoD policy to comment on Special Forces, a spokesman said the appeal of "operating in elite units of the British Armed forces remains a very strong draw for our most exceptional people". He added: "Members of all TA regiments are entitled to full-time employment of their choice, this is the same for the TA SAS regiments."
