Pensions are that high? And you can get them as early as 38? That's absolutely insane.
Ssshhhh! Don't challenge the sacred cows. These ones have guns and large chips on their shoulders.
I don't think anyone here is looking at the EXTREMELY high liklihood of death, dismemberment, medical trauma etc as the reason pensions are high. My husband has a number of years until his 20, he's in an elite unit, and I can tell you his body and hearing are like that of a 60 year old at 35. I'm pretty sure he won't be able to do much by the time he retires, nor do I think after 8 combat deployments so far that he should have to. He also took a huge pay cut to join the military. His law degree from big name Ivy League in a decent size city would put him at close to 200k, he sure as heck doesn't earn anywhere near that in the military. And now with the skills he's learned in this environment, he could go to any pen testing firm and make double what he is now.
I mean without the pension who would really stick around to be senior leadership? Most of the good talent would maybe do one term for experience or personal satisfaction, then jump ship. With the millions of dollars they have spent training him (Heck HALO alone runs around 50k p/p and I don't think that includes the fuel cost) that's an investment the government would see go down the toilet and one they would have to continuously spend to keep readiness up.
The medical insurance and the pension (mainly medical since we plan on having 1.5 mil by the time he retires) are the number one reason he will stay in to 20, if that went away he'd be gone as soon as the paperwork could drop. It's not worth the years apart, moving, stress, risk of death or severe injury, mental trauma etc. There is nothing like getting paid 75-80k a year to be responsible for the lives of 60 soldiers, and their entire families as well to make you realize the military really DOES need some kick butt recruiting and retention tools.
Think of it this way, corporations offer HUGE salaries, bonuses, stocks etc to attract and retain top talent. Why is it so wrong for the government to do the same for the people responsible for your well being, freedom of speech, and ability to go to the grocery store without fearing getting blown up?