The Minister of Defense, Admiral Sigfrido Pared Perez announced yesterday, Wednesday 4 December that starting this week they have increased from 3,000 to 6,000 the number of military assigned to security patrols. The measure is aimed at enhancing safety with the increase in money in circulation as a result of the Christmas bonus. Pared Perez recalled that in the middle of the year they put out 3,000 military troops within the framework of the government’s Citizen Safety Plan. He said that the 6,000 troops are composed of 3,000 from the Army, 1,500 from the Armada (Navy), and 1,500 from the Air Force.
The Minister also confirmed that they would apply the salary increase for military personnel in January, which will be between 12% and 22%, depending on rank. “The enlisted personnel need more resources, more help, for this reason we are carrying out a survey in order to redirect these resources to the ranks in which the volume will be greater, as well as also much more needed,” said the top official. On the payroll published on the Ministry of Defense webpage, the monthly salary of a private is RD$6118.16, a sergeant major is paid RD$9,177.26, a colonel earns RD$21,700.51 and a major general gets RD$38,194.92.