Are Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, overpaid or underpaid?

Grossly overpaid. Serving in the best military in the world is a privilege. You always hear veterans complaining about how they were "abandoned" after they left the army or that their disability payments never come through. Is it really all about money? I never served, but if I did, I would have been awarded several medals for valor and I never would have whined about my pay, because I would have done it all for love of country.

There have been numerous studies on this. military are paid fairly and equally to those in civilian sector fir same education/skills. For example enlisted soldier with no college degree is getting paid equal to those in civilian sector for doing comparable job. fir example mechanic in motor pool. officers same holds true. Officer with 4 year degree leading a company or battalion paid equal to manager at corporation.

So I am going to skip E1-E3 since a Soldier will make E4 within 18-24mo AND E4 (Specialist) is the most populous pay grade in the Army.

A single E4 living in the barracks with 2yrs time in service has a base pay of $2515 a month before taxes, $30k a year.

They receive BAS, Basic Allowance for Subsistence (ie: Food) of $406 a month, but this is deducted from single soldiers in the barracks because they have access to a Dining Facility (DFAC). I say access because many choose not to eat there and will come out of pocket for their meals. They are charged DFAC usage whether they eat there or not.

Alan

That sounds a bit low. I'd like to hear more about typical longer term trajectories. Also, we always hear about discounts for military. How much do those add up overall?

As a comparison...

I am a Sergeant First Class (E7) with almost 12 years in service ($4685), plus BAS ($406), plus Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) which is currently $1737. A total of $6827/mo, $82k a year. I pay no state taxes and of that $82k only the base pay of $56k is reported as taxable income.

Alan

By not including E1 to E3, you are not being accurate. You are bending data to make being an enlisted person in U.S. military more appealing than U.S. military actually is for enlisted personnel.

Military pay schedules are easily accessible. Single Soldiers in the barracks are not paid much. You are able to live on your own and collect BAH as a single Staff Sergeant (E6) or if you are married or have a dependent (child).

The pay does increase dramatically once you get married.

Also, what bills does the Single Soldier living in the barracks really have? Phone, Cable, Car, Insurance is about it. Booze?

Alan

Your effective compensation is above most university professors in their first 5 years, so that seems pretty decent for you. I don't know how long you can do that, or what is typical to transition to afterwards...

I skipped E1-E3 because there are relatively few of them. E4 makes up the majority of the Army. E3 is automatic after 12mo. Most people can leave Basic as an E2 or E3.

Alan

They get paid in salutes from old guys in Home Depot

I'm confused. I've been told that we have a volunteer military. You're telling me that they get paid?

What do you mean relatively few? Do you mean like three or four? Do thousands of E1, E2 & E3 seem relatively few? There are more E1, E2 & E3 personnel in U.S. military than there are E9 personnel. When commuting average pay of enlisted personnel in U.S. military, no doubt you will include pay of E9 personnel.

Yeah, right.

Grossly underpaid.

Military personnel must be underpaid since their lives are so easily expendable. If soldiers were paid better and had better benefits we would be more cautious about getting into military conflicts. But the military is a big business and makes many people far from the battlefield very rich.

No they're not underpaid especially when you consider the amenities like free room and board for those opting to live on base. It's easy to put away a lot of money in a retirement plan if you're single/unmarried.

It gets more complicated when it comes to married individuals though and individuals with kids. You could argue that they are underpaid if the spouse is unable to find work.

I don’t know American military pay scales. My wife is an O7 in another NATO service. She makes the equivalent of about $153k USD, with nearly 40 years of service under her (tiny) belt. From past discussions with US colleagues, their pension is better than hers.

is she overpaid? She could easily find work for more money out of uniform, so I think not, at least relative to fair market value. Others may disagree and consider that too much, I don’t know. She has been exposed to far more danger than nearly every LRC poster, including myself, by a long shot.

Two trajectories:

1. I remain a SFC until retirement.

2. I get promoted at least 1 more time before retirement.

.........

1. Current 20yr SFC base pay is $5232.

2. Current 20yr MSG (E8) base pay is $5860.

Assuming avg 3% annual pay raise (assumed but it has varied and we ALWAYS get a pay raise).

1. $6627/mo at 20.

2. $7423/mo at 20

Calculating future BAH is more difficult. Some years it drops, some years it goes up and their are discussions in Congress about tying the amount to your actual rent/mortgage instead of Soldiers pocketing the difference.

...........

My pension is 50% of base pay starting as soon as I leave service, more specifically: years in service x 2.5% x base pay:

1. $3313/mo

2. $3711/mo

So I joined at age 32, so at age 52 I could collect #1 or #2 just sitting on my butt. And TRICARE after military retirement is dirt cheap if in network ($647 a year, $0 deductible, $22 office visit).

Once I get out I plan on sliding into a federal job and start building that pension from a year 0.

Alan

They're not underpaid if you reach a point where you qualify for a pension of some sort. If you do your 20 years and get that pension or just get in a condition where you have medical retirement benefits for life, you're on pretty good ground.

The only service members who might be underpaid if you look at it holistically are those who don't do their full 20 years. If you get a pension, the value of the pension is worth over 1 million dollars over the lifetime of a retired soldier.

Enter at 18, retire at 38. Do the math and say you have 40 more years on average to live. Pension is adjusted for inflation as well. You're looking at around $1 million for the average E-7 minimum. Higher for officers and higher enlisted. Move to a state with no state income tax and you could theoretically live off the pension for the rest of your life. But this ideal case is only for those who are single/no kids.

I simply used an example of the most populous pay grade.

You are free to use the accessible military pay chart and determine your own average.

Alan