What pay for soldiers?

[Eddie]

Also Separate Rats (Separate Ration Allowance) so you can afford to not eat in the Mess Hall. The BAH and Separate Rats in Hawaii are gigantic due to the costs of off-base housing, and lots of personnel live off-base since the housing areas of bases aren't that big. You can also get TLA (Temporary Living Allowance) while you're waiting to get into base housing, and TDY (Temporary Duty Allowance), even if you aren't living off base -- I got TDY when I was on funeral detail, since we were in and out of hotels, and I got TDY in jump school, even though I was in training barracks.

Separate Rats doesn't change based on location though. For Os it doesn't even change with paygrade, I'm not sure about Es but I don't think it does for them either. In Hawaii, BAH and COLA skyrocket. As an O2E I was netting more than $10,000 a month while deployed and almost as much after redeployment.

The other pays, TLA, TDY, TLE, Clothing Allowance, Family Separation, Hazardous Duty, etc., are available only under certain conditions and are not a regular occurrence. Technically clothing allowance is, but it's only once a year. TDY is a whole separate animal altogether. I didn't go to Jump School on TDY so I got nothing. I didn't get my first TDY until I went to Ranger School. Then you have Permissive TDY which you don't get paid for, it's just free leave to find a house at a new duty station basically.

There are so many rules and conditions put on the special pays that it's barely worth the hassle anymore. But, extra pay you're entitled to is extra pay that you're entitled to.

[Eddie]

Oh, and my favorite special pay, Dislocation Allowance. Of which, I recently found out that you can get more than once every fiscal year! I can't wait for my move in 2 weeks!

[Legbreaker]

Back in the very early 90's as a reservist, a Private in the Australian Army received about $49 per day of active duty. We had a weekend (2 1/2 days pay) and two week night parades a month of 2 hours and 3 hours which were worth 1/3 and 1/2 a day respectively.
When in the field more than a couple of days (annual training of 16 days) we received Field Allowance ($15 per day). There were a number of other allowances of varying amounts depending on the situation - Deployment Allowance, Hard Living Allowance (when in tents rather than barracks), Separation Allowance (a favourite of the married men), just to name a few.

When I went full time in 94, the base daily rate had climbed to the dizzying heights of AU$56.65. As a regular soldier I received $371.07 per week plus $7.48 Uniform Maintenance Allowance, however immediately paid back $62.30 R&Q (Rations and Quarters), and $18.55 MSBS (can't find what that code is).

As an officer in the reserves, I think the pay was upwards of $90 per day plus allowances (I should have taken the commission they offered me!).

I had heard those soldiers who deployed to Rwanda (and got totally messed up psychologically by the terrible experience of the genocide they witnessed) earnt around $40k each for the 6 month tour. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Bat...egiment#Rwanda

[headquarters]

Norwegian pay in the 90s

Regular pay for conscripts were around 10 US dollars a day .12 if you were a cpl. ( 60 and 70 NOK respectively ).

As a sargent you had a monthly pay of around 15000 NOK or 2,500 US dollars roughly .But this increased with any field time ( i.e duty out of camp or any travel.) If I got lucky and had a couple of courses with travel to and from and a big EX one month ,it got to be around 3000 US (21000 NOK).

Not bad for a 20 year old I guess.

But when I deployed overseas so many bonuses kicked in in addition to favourable taxation rules .

As a 2nd LT. I made around 5000US /30 000 NOK a month after taxes.

Dont know what they make today out there ,but I hear our SF guys make around 7000-10 000 US a month when you add all of it up and factor in tax cuts etc .

[pmulcahy11b]

Reading Eddie's post reminded me of something that happened when I was stationed on Okinawa. I'd met & befriended an Air Farce type, same rank as me, E-3. He showed me his room at the AF's barracks. Huge room, full size bed, no roommate, drinking fountain in the room that had hot water for coffee.

My barracks Built shortly after WWII, was open squadbay converted to 2 man rooms with thin paneling, community shower/head, no a/c, standard military bunkbeds, steel lockers.

I have to admit to being slightly jealous.

Heck, the Air Force doesn't even call them barracks -- they're dormitories. Even the barracks rooms my stepfather's Marines had were luxurious compared to the Army barracks we had when I was in.

[jester]

Wes,

What camp were you at in Oki

We did Hansens, the open bays by the lower Chow Hall, empty pool at the Very edge of the base. Just a side wall divider for a cubicle, and when it rained heavily, it would flood., glad I got a top bunk

I did a stink at Camp Courtney, the HQ 3rd Mar Div for a bit and they gave me a room! Damn! They had carpeting, bathtubs and TEAK cabinets for wall lockers and real furniture, again some kind of nice hardwood desks and talbles and even a nice refrigerator. It was like night and day from where I had come.

Paul, you are kidding even when I was in Hawaii in the 90s many of us were living in open squadbays <a couple that had been condemed since the 60s>


As for pay per day, we would sit and do the math.

As a L/Cpl before taxes we got about $34 a day which well when we thought about it, it was rather demoralizing. I recall many a time guys saying "For the hours I work it comes out to half minimuim wage. Phuc, I'd be making more flipping burgers." But then again, it wasn't about getting rich, it was more about chasing women, riding fast in helos and boats, shooting automatic weapons and blowing things up. AHHHH, even the memories have a slight adrenaline rush

[Adm.Lee]

Heck, the Air Force doesn't even call them barracks -- they're dormitories. Even the barracks rooms my stepfather's Marines had were luxurious compared to the Army barracks we had when I was in.

Well, you've heard about how the US Air Force builds its bases, right First, they put up the golf course, officers' quarters, officers' club, NCO & enlisted dormitories and eating facilities. After that, hangars and maintenance facilities. By then, they've blown through the allocated money, and go back to Congress: "Our new base doesn't have runways yet." And Congress agrees that you can't have an airbase without runways, so they fund it some more.

Apparently, the Navy lays down the runways first, then some of the other stuff, and runs out of money about halfway through the hangars and enlisted facilities. When they go back to Congress, they get told to see what next year's budget brings.

So I'm told....

[pmulcahy11b]

So I guess the Army builds the motor pools and buys the vehicles and weapons, then says "Damn! Where are we going to put our troops!"

[Legbreaker]

Isn't that what tents are for

[pmulcahy11b]

Isn't that what tents are for

The only time I slept in a tent was in Basic. I don't recall ever setting up a pup tent on active duty or in the National Guard. Closest I came was rigging a lean-to.

Unless you count my REMF days at 2X...it was like Shangri-La. We even had cold soda and hot food in the field. Going back to the 82nd after that was a shock!

[Eddie]

I spent the first half of my deployment to Iraq in a GP Large with my platoon. The other two platoons got buildings and the Os had a Leader's room in the CP building, but I opted to sleep in the same conditions as my guys.

[jester]

Paul, I hate you for another reason!

I had to actualy sit down and count the number of times I slept in a shelter half!

1 week in Boot Camp
1 Week in MCT
1 Week in SOI
1 Week at Mt. Fuji in the Fleet
1 one night in the desert when we had to hunker down because of a sandstorm. Then they got ditched. Damn thats not alot, considering all the time we had to hump the heavy things.

[Cpl. Kalkwarf]

Wes,

What camp were you at in Oki

We did Hansens, the open bays by the lower Chow Hall, empty pool at the Very edge of the base. Just a side wall divider for a cubicle, and when it rained heavily, it would flood., glad I got a top bunk

I did a stink at Camp Courtney, the HQ 3rd Mar Div for a bit and they gave me a room! Damn! They had carpeting, bathtubs and TEAK cabinets for wall lockers and real furniture, again some kind of nice hardwood desks and talbles and even a nice refrigerator. It was like night and day from where I had come.

Paul, you are kidding even when I was in Hawaii in the 90s many of us were living in open squadbays <a couple that had been condemed since the 60s>


As for pay per day, we would sit and do the math.

As a L/Cpl before taxes we got about $34 a day which well when we thought about it, it was rather demoralizing. I recall many a time guys saying "For the hours I work it comes out to half minimuim wage. Phuc, I'd be making more flipping burgers." But then again, it wasn't about getting rich, it was more about chasing women, riding fast in helos and boats, shooting automatic weapons and blowing things up. AHHHH, even the memories have a slight adrenaline rush

Woh! I was at Camp Kinser back in 80. It sure has changed since then. Ive looked at pics and hardly recognize it.

[pmulcahy11b]

I spent the first half of my deployment to Iraq in a GP Large with my platoon. The other two platoons got buildings and the Os had a Leader's room in the CP building, but I opted to sleep in the same conditions as my guys.

I admired BG Granrud at 2X for that reason. He kept the nice luxury 5-ton we outfitted for him at the motor pool, and slept in a pup tent just outside the TAC. I had it better than him -- I slept on top of a 577. I never had much real respect for most officers, but I respected the hell out of General Granrud.

[pmulcahy11b]

Paul, I hate you for another reason!

I had to actualy sit down and count the number of times I slept in a shelter half!

I carried the shelter half, sometimes -- it's a bit bulky, though, and a poncho can serve many of the same purposes.