Abstract: Rapid increases in inflation since 2020, a strong labor market, together with military recruiting struggles and reported food insecurity among military members, have put a spotlight on military compensation and on the foundational element of the compensation system, military basic pay. The National Defense Authorization Act for 2023 mandated a study of military basic pay, as does the charter of the 14th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, the White House–directed commission that studies military compensation. The Fourteenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation requested the RAND National Defense Research Institute to conduct such a study. In this report, the authors assess the basic pay tables of junior, midcareer, and senior enlisted personnel and commissioned officers; evaluate the Employment Cost Index (ECI) as a guide to the annual pay raise, as well as alternatives; compare military pay, measured by regular military compensation, with civilian earnings and evaluate the 70th percentile benchmark developed by the Ninth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation in 2002; and assess pay for service members in critical specialties and whether and how basic pay could be used to address personnel needs in these specialties. The authors also review recent trends in the civilian labor market that might affect recruiting and retention outcomes and the adequacy of military basic pay; develop proposals for change, drawing from past studies and commissions that have assessed military compensation; present findings from discussions with subject-matter experts and a review of relevant academic literature; and analyze pay, personnel, and civilian labor market data.