Twenty Years of Service

"Shed[s] light on what is an important topic."—Choice

“Employing case studies, Archuleta brings history to life in a clear, interesting way, educating the reader on a complex process that few understand.”—Army Magazine

“Twenty Years of Service is a must-read for anyone interested in US military pensions. Archuleta weaves together policy subsystems theory, historical analysis, and interviews to explain the problems with the longstanding pension regime, why that regime was left mostly intact for decades, and how it was finally changed. This terrific book not only advances our understanding of the politics of military pensions but also sheds light on policy subsystems more generally.”—Sarah F. Anzia, Michelle J. Schwartz Associate Professor of Public Policy and associate professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley

“Archuleta provides policy watchers with a clear and lucid analysis of the rare transformation of an otherwise impermeable policy subsystem: the military retirement pension system in the United States. By leveraging interviews with scores of key players and analysts, Twenty Years of Service illuminates the recent 2015 reforms of the famously rigid policy arena hitherto tucked among veterans’ interest groups, a compliant bureaucracy, and the germane congressional committees. The book helps us better understand how policy reforms and innovation proceed when budgetary stresses preclude the status quo despite a sclerotic and long history.”—Jeremy Teigen, professor of political science, Ramapo College of New Jersey