rd of up to 5% of the grantee's base pay provided. 9. Distinguished and Meritorious Executive Awards — The most prestigious awards to career Senior Executive Service (SES) members to recognize extraordinary long-term achievements. These awards entitle the recipients to cash awards of 25% - 35% of basic annual pay

osition in the NSA itself. He apparently believed that if he scored high enough in its entrance exam, the NSA would invite him to join it as a Senior Executive Service officer, or SES, which was the civilian equivalent in rank and pay to a flag officer in the US armed forces. To achieve this SES job, Snowden used hi