Army secretary: Low pay doesn't scare off recruits, but makes it tough to keep them

A combination of unsatisfying salary and poor housing threatens to drive U.S. troops out of the Army amid major recruiting shortfalls, according to a senior Pentagon official.

“In the data that we have, we don’t see concerns from young Americans about whether the pay is competitive or even whether the barracks are good quality,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told the House Armed Services Committee. “But, certainly once folks join the Army, they see their earning statement, they see where they’re living — and that shapes, I think, whether they want to stay in the Army.”