Branch head, System Development and Integration Branch, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City, Fla.

There are 15 pay bands in the GS [General Schedule] system, based on the number of years you've worked for the U.S. government. We got away from that about six years ago and went to something called the Demonstration Lab Program. There are five pay bands and increments are based on performance. All the labor unions were up in arms about it.

It's still fairly rigid, but I have more flexibility than [I did in] the old GS system. I'm messing with three or four points. A point is only 1.5 percent. I have 35 engineers reporting directly to me. I have some guys who are hard chargers. I move their salaries along more than some other guys. Even so, everyone is making more money than they used to make.

The reason they stay with the government and put up with all the bureaucracy and bull is that we have very good state-of-the-art, hands-on engineering. We never do the same thing twice. There's always something that needs to be moved along.

That's what keeps the workers here — not the pay.

I worked for the Navy outside Washington, D.C., and moved to the panhandle of Florida 20 years ago. It was like a big pay raise, a significant difference. The cost of living is not as high. You can enjoy a pretty comfortable lifestyle here. You don't find too many people wanting to move from here to D.C. or San Diego or a place like that. We are a Navy R&D activity.

There are about 1,200 people at this facility. We primarily deal with what they call the Littoral [Naval Surface] Warfare Center, having to do with salvage and life support.

We support a number of operations that are ongoing [in the Iraq war]. About half my branch left yesterday for a fleet operation. Our group builds undersea automotive vehicles, and they are critical. We have guys that end up in the theater supporting these systems. I think a large number find it very rewarding. You can actually see you're making a difference.