Full Benefits For Retiring Army Captains

The U.S. Army reversed its policy on captains being forced into retirement Thursday, allowing them to earn full benefits at their current rank rather than receiving sergeants' benefits as initially planned. The new policy may mean 120 officers could receive up to $1 million more in benefits over a lifetime, according to lawmakers who advocated the change. Earlier this year the Army cut 1,188 captains and 550 majors as a part of its postwar drawdown policy. Some officers did not meet the eight-year requirement needed to retire as a captain, and the Army initially said it would only pay them at their highest enlisted rank, according New York Times. The Army also told 44 officers who, it was forcing to leave and were just under two years shy of 20 years of service, that they could keep their jobs in order to obtain full benefits.