Give Department of War Civilian Employees a Fair 2027 Pay Raise
The Issue
Give Department of War Civilian Employees a Fair 2027 Pay Raise
We call on Department of War leadership, the Office of Personnel Management, the White House, and Congress to provide Department of War civilian employees with a meaningful pay increase in 2027.
The DoW employs approximately 950,000 civilian employees across nearly 675 occupations. They maintain aircraft and weapons systems, analyze intelligence, defend cyber networks, engineer new capabilities, manage logistics, support Special Operations Forces, sustain nuclear deterrence, and perform countless other missions essential to national security.
Secretary Pete Hegseth has recognized their importance. He has described DoW civilians as highly skilled employees who provide “critical continuity” and “act as force multipliers” in defending our nation.
Yet most federal civilians now face a 2027 pay freeze.
Some DoW civilians also occupy Emergency-Essential and expeditionary positions. They may be required to remain when others evacuate or deploy worldwide to austere environments in support of combat and contingency operations. These employees are part of the Total Force and serve alongside our military in accomplishing the national-defense mission.
Competitive compensation is not simply an employee benefit—it is a readiness and retention issue.
The federal government has already recognized this principle. OPM used special salary-rate authority to provide certain federal law-enforcement personnel additional compensation because of recruitment, retention, and mission requirements.
We support fair compensation for those employees. We ask that the same urgency be applied to the civilian workforce responsible for national defense.
We respectfully call for:
• A meaningful 2027 pay increase for DoW civilian employees.
• DoW leadership to publicly advocate for its civilian workforce with the President, OPM, OMB, and Congress.
• A Department-wide review of mission-critical occupations for special salary rates where recruitment, retention, private-sector pay disparities, or unique working conditions justify them.
• A review of compensation for Emergency-Essential and expeditionary civilians who accept extraordinary deployment obligations.
If DoW civilians are truly force multipliers, their compensation should reflect their importance to the mission.
Support the civilian Total Force. Support a fair 2027 DoW civilian pay raise.
Sources: Department of War Civilian Employment Opportunities; Secretary of War Modern Workforce Management Memorandum, September 30, 2025; OPM Special Salary Rates for Certain Law Enforcement Personnel; 2027 Alternative Pay Plan.
1
The Issue
Give Department of War Civilian Employees a Fair 2027 Pay Raise
We call on Department of War leadership, the Office of Personnel Management, the White House, and Congress to provide Department of War civilian employees with a meaningful pay increase in 2027.
The DoW employs approximately 950,000 civilian employees across nearly 675 occupations. They maintain aircraft and weapons systems, analyze intelligence, defend cyber networks, engineer new capabilities, manage logistics, support Special Operations Forces, sustain nuclear deterrence, and perform countless other missions essential to national security.
Secretary Pete Hegseth has recognized their importance. He has described DoW civilians as highly skilled employees who provide “critical continuity” and “act as force multipliers” in defending our nation.
Yet most federal civilians now face a 2027 pay freeze.
Some DoW civilians also occupy Emergency-Essential and expeditionary positions. They may be required to remain when others evacuate or deploy worldwide to austere environments in support of combat and contingency operations. These employees are part of the Total Force and serve alongside our military in accomplishing the national-defense mission.
Competitive compensation is not simply an employee benefit—it is a readiness and retention issue.
The federal government has already recognized this principle. OPM used special salary-rate authority to provide certain federal law-enforcement personnel additional compensation because of recruitment, retention, and mission requirements.
We support fair compensation for those employees. We ask that the same urgency be applied to the civilian workforce responsible for national defense.
We respectfully call for:
• A meaningful 2027 pay increase for DoW civilian employees.
• DoW leadership to publicly advocate for its civilian workforce with the President, OPM, OMB, and Congress.
• A Department-wide review of mission-critical occupations for special salary rates where recruitment, retention, private-sector pay disparities, or unique working conditions justify them.
• A review of compensation for Emergency-Essential and expeditionary civilians who accept extraordinary deployment obligations.
If DoW civilians are truly force multipliers, their compensation should reflect their importance to the mission.
Support the civilian Total Force. Support a fair 2027 DoW civilian pay raise.
Sources: Department of War Civilian Employment Opportunities; Secretary of War Modern Workforce Management Memorandum, September 30, 2025; OPM Special Salary Rates for Certain Law Enforcement Personnel; 2027 Alternative Pay Plan.
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Petition created on August 29, 2026