Military pay near lowest

[Black02Silverado]

Atlanta Journal-Constitution April 3, 2003

 

Study Finds Military Pay Near Lowest

 

Pay: Troops earn less than $16,000

By Tammy Joyner, Staff

 

American soldiers on the front lines in the Iraq war earn little more than a theater usher or crossing guard, according to a new survey of military pay.

 

Front-line battle troops, mostly those who hold the rank of private and have been in the military about a year, earn less than $16,000 a year -- some of the lowest pay around, the Challenger, Gray and Christmas survey noted.

 

In fact, the Challenger study looked at hundreds of jobs listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found only five other jobs paid less than the $15,480 a year earned by privates.

At the other end of the spectrum, Gen. Tommy Franks, a 36-year Army vet leading the U.S. Central Command that's overseeing military action in Iraq, earns a base pay of $153,948 a year. That's about $12,829 a month.

Franks' peers in corporate America -- chief executive officers -- had compensation packages averaging $11 million in 2001, when a slowing economy lowered bonuses and the value of stock options fell sharply.

 

Most soldiers, however, get more than just basic pay. Those on active duty are given an allowance for housing and subsistence, incentive pay, medical and other benefits, said Christopher Michel, chief executive of Military Advantage, a San Francisco-based company that provides services to current and past members of the military.

Combat pay varies, but it's generally an additional $150 a month in a soldier's check.

 

"Special pay and incentive pay" is added for such duties as flying or diving, for hardship and for foreign language proficiency, depending on one's assignment and skills.

Military personnel and their families also have commissary and post exchange privileges, which allow them to buy items often for less than they would pay at conventional stores.

"In fact, disposable income can be quite high for military families," said Anne Dwane, vice president at Military Advantage.

And it's gotten a little better in recent years. The fiscal 2003 budget includes $47 billion set aside for pay increases for mililtary personnel, who will get a minimum 4.1 percent raise across the board this year, Dwane said.

Still, basic military pay is relatively low compared with corporate paychecks.

The $26,200-a-year starting salary for second lieutenants, for example, is equal to annual salaries for sales clerks at clothing stores ($26,780); receptionists ($26,208); pest control workers ($26,208); and shoe repairers ($26,364).

"It certainly looks like there's an inequitable distribution of pay given the trade-offs and risks of the jobs," said Mitch Barnes, Atlanta-based principal at Mercer Human Resource Consulting. "Certainly a theater usher doesn't have the kind of risk that a corporal or private in the field has."

But Barnes cautioned against making comparisons between private enterprise and public service.

"Many people who are employed by the military do it for reasons far beyond the compensation package offered to them," he said.

The military offers training that people later use in corporate America, which makes the work attractive, Barnes said. But, he went on to say, corporate America and the military have two different objectives when it comes to compensation.

"The private sector is very strongly focused on retention and attracting and retaining good employees," he said. "Their compensation packages reflect that, and therefore they're going to be more competitive than the military for workers.

"The military really has different motivation."

A LOOK AT ANNUAL SALARIES

Public servants

President Bush....$400,000*

Gen. Tommy Franks....$153,948

Colonel.... $55,236

Lieutenant colonel....$46,044

Major....$39,733

Captain.... $34,934

2nd lieutenant....$26,200

Corporal with three years of service....$19,980

Private with one year of service....$15,480

Poverty level (family of three).... $15,260

U.S. workers

Average CEO compensation....$11 million**

Clothing store sales clerk....$26,780

Receptionist....$26,208

Crossing guard....$15,080

Child care worker....$14,144

Theater usher.... $14,144

Butler or housekeeper....$12,584

*President Bush's salary was signed into law by President Clinton in 1999 and was effective January 2001. Additionally, he gets a $50,000 allowance for expenses.

 

**Standard & Poor's survey of 2001 compensation packages among the S&P 500's top executives.

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas

[Z71GUY]

Thats not right.  They should be paid more...but how do you put a price on someone putting their life on the line?  Not sure what the correct figure should be, but it should be more than what is posted above.

[MarkD]

DONT GET ME WRONG!

 

I do not think we should "cut corners" when supporting our troops (or LEO's, firefighters, teachers).

 

I have to wonder if these numbers are misrepresented though.

 

In 1998, I sold my 1 year old SeaDoo XP to an Army PFC.  I took it to his house for him because he did not yet have a hitch on his Corvette, or his "souped up" Mustang.

 

On top of pay, military personnel do not have to pay for food, clothing, housing, electricity, etc. (am I wrong here?)

 

After paying my $1000 house payment, $180 electric bill, $250 food bill, that would amount to $26,557 pre-tax.

 

Put that, on top of the PFC pay, and you have $42k!(p.s. I don't make that much)

 

I am not saying this is an accurate number of what a PFC makes, just a more reasonable approximation than $16k a year.

[MountaineerTom]

On top of pay, military personnel do not have to pay for food, clothing, housing, electricity, etc. (am I wrong here?)

I can't speak for all branches, but in the AF, if your single and living in the dorms, that applies.

 

If you are married, or even a single parent, you have the oppurtunity to live in base housing.  No electricity bill or haouse payment, but you do not get the alloted amount of money that you would get, based on rank, for living off base.

 

Also, if you don't live in the dorms, you get an allowance for food, but it's based on the military individual, not the number of people in your family.  So, if I had a wife and one kid, or a wife and 10 kids, I'd get the same amount.

 

There are many different situations that determine some of those allowances too.  Some carrer fields get the money for food, even though they live in the dorms because their work schedule keeps them from being able to make it to the chow hall during the hours they are open.

 

I don't know if those number are completely accurate or not, but your definately not going to be a millionare based on the base pay.  

 

Here's a link to the Air Force pay chart for this year.  Your pay is based on rank and your time in service.  http://www.dfas.mil/money/milpay/pay/2003paytable.pdf

 

For those who don't know, E-1 through E-9 are enlistd, and O-1 through O-10 are officers.