by Major General (Retired) Boe Young
Military Expert Witness Group

Personal injury claims involving military service members frequently include allegations that an accident ended a promising career. When plaintiffs assert that an injury prevented continued service, that often translates into projected losses that include decades of future military pay, missed promotions, and substantial pension benefits. Because military compensation structures are unique — and North Carolina is home to large military communities spanning active-duty, Guard, and Reserve populations — defense attorneys and insurers must carefully assess these claims. Properly evaluating military career trajectories, advancement expectations, and benefit systems is essential to building a realistic and defensible economic model.

Evaluating Service Potential: A Two-Part Analysis

When assessing whether a service member truly lost a military career, we focus on two core questions:

1. Was the individual truly on track for continued service?

Military advancement is performance-based, not automatic. A service member’s personnel file is central to understanding their competitiveness. Promotion boards review performance reports, training history, leadership potential, and completion of required professional military and civilian education. Comparing a plaintiff’s record against these objective benchmarks — including historical board outcomes — helps determine whether their career momentum supported their damages claim.

2. Did the service have a demand for someone of their skills and rank?

Even strong performers may face limited opportunities if the service is downsizing or reshaping its force structure. We examine published force-management data, promotional opportunity metrics, and trends in specialty demand. Understanding how the military allocates human capital across career fields is critical to determining whether a long-term career was realistically available to the plaintiff and for how long.

Once these issues are understood, we separate fact from assumption. For example, plaintiffs often assume an uninterrupted career path extending to 20 years of service. In reality, many military members serve under short-term contracts and may not even be eligible to reenlist without meeting performance criteria. These details significantly affect projected tenure and retirement eligibility.

With the factual foundation clarified, we model potential career outcomes and compensation streams using DoD pay tables, statutory formulas, and established regulations. These projections typically account for base pay, allowances (BAH and BAS), special or incentive pay, health-care value, and, if applicable, retirement benefits.

The Weight of Retirement in Damages Models

In many military-related injury cases, the largest component of alleged economic loss involves retirement benefits — particularly the value of an immediate, lifetime active-duty pension. Because military pensions are indexed for inflation and continue for life, the total value can reach seven figures.

A Brief Overview of Military Retirement Systems

Active-Duty Retirement (20-Year Retirement)

Members who complete 20 years of service qualify for an immediate pension. Under the Blended Retirement System (BRS) which was implemented in 2018, members receive a smaller defined benefit than under the legacy system but gain matching contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which works similar to a 401K plan.

Reserve/Guard Retirement

Reserve Retirement is earned through accumulated “points” for drills, active service, training, and other duties. Retired pay usually starts at age 60, although many reserve members can qualify for earlier receipt.

Disability Retirement

Those medically retired with a DoD disability rating of at least 30% receive an immediate monthly retirement benefit and lifetime access to military health care. Disability retirement is separate and distinct from VA disability benefits.

Understanding the nuances of these systems — and whether the plaintiff likely would have qualified for any of them — is crucial. Understanding how they mesh with VA benefits, is crucial to comprehend.

Examples Illustrating the Importance of Record-Based Review

The Navy Commander and the Unlikely Promotion to Captain (O-6)

One case involved a Navy Commander who asserted she would have been promoted to Captain, significantly increasing her projected pension value. However, her file showed three non-selections — a critical issue in the Navy’s strict up-or-out system. Historical board data confirmed that further promotion was improbable. Once these facts were presented, the opposing expert withdrew their opinion entirely.

The Army Major Missing a Key Educational Requirement

Another plaintiff, an Army Major, claimed he was on track for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. Although promotion rates at that level can be favorable, a deeper review revealed he had never attended the mandatory professional military education required for promotion. Without that credential, his upward trajectory was far from guaranteed. Incorporating this fact substantially reduced the claimed damages.

A Marine NCO With a Strong, Well-Documented Career

In contrast, a Marine Corps Non-Commissioned Officer medically retired after a vehicle accident had an exemplary record — meritorious promotions, superior performance, and combat deployments. Given her career timing and trajectory, she appeared likely to advance. Nevertheless, we modeled multiple scenarios to reflect varying probabilities of promotion, offering the court a balanced, transparent picture.

These examples illustrate a consistent theme: military personnel files and objective promotion data often tell a more reliable story than assumptions made in the initial damages claim.

Distinguishing the Major Benefit Systems

Confusion often arises between three separate programs: VA disability compensation, military disability retirement, and disability severance pay. Each carries different legal implications and must be treated correctly in damages analysis.

VA Disability Compensation

A tax-free benefit is paid monthly by the Department of Veterans Affairs for service-connected conditions. It does not represent lost earnings and is separate from military retirement.

Military Disability Retirement

A DoD-administered retirement system for members who cannot continue service due to qualifying disabilities. It functions like a pension and includes long-term health care benefits.

Disability Severance Pay

A one-time lump sum given to members separated for medical reasons with a DoD disability rating below 30%. It is not a retirement benefit and may or may not be considered a setoff depending on jurisdiction.

Misunderstanding the interactions among these systems can lead to inaccurate valuations — sometimes significantly inflating damages.

Beyond Pay: Additional Components of Military Compensation

Military earnings include more than salary. When assessing lost earnings, ensure the following are accounted for:

• Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) – monthly housing allowance that varies based on location and rank.
• Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) – monthly allowance for food, which varies based on enlisted/officer and rank.
• Special and incentive pay (e.g., aviation pay, language incentives, reenlistment bonuses) – these can be a major factor in total remuneration and are frequently overlooked.
• Health-care benefits for members and families. Both reserve and active retirements include healthcare benefits and the value of these can be as high as the defined pension benefit.
• Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits — including the value of tuition, stipends, and often transferability to dependents. While the GI Bill is not direct income, losing eligibility due to early separation can represent a meaningful loss of future value.

Conclusion

Service members often present compelling narratives and sympathetic plaintiffs, when they allege an injury derailed their military career. But for defense attorneys— especially in a military-heavy state such as North Carolina — these cases demand more than a surface-level evaluation. Every promotion claim, benefit calculation, and assumption about continued service should be tested against objective data: the personnel file, promotion board statistics, DoD regulations, and force-structure realities. When this analysis is performed early and rigorously, the resulting damages assessments are more precise, more credible, and ultimately more fair for all parties involved.