A Few Basic Facts about the U.S. Military
by Susan Galleymore
Americans are beginning to understand that the U.S. mission to spread freedom and democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan is not only not accomplished but it is also draining our treasury, killing, wounding, and exhausting our troops, "breaking" our military, and heaping shame upon our heads for the enormous number of civilian deaths. For those Americans asking, "How does our military work anyway?" Here is a cheat sheet.
Note: This will be an ongoing endeavor (well, within reason!) I will add military budgets and some comparisons with "outsourced" or contracted (mercenary) info too.
Basic facts about the U.S. military: (1)
Military bases and inventory
Approximate number of U.S. military bases overseas: at least 737
Replacement value of overseas bases: at least $658.1 billion
Inventory of personnel:
Military deployed to overseas bases: 196,975
Plus an equal number of dependents and DoD civilian officials: 196,975
Plus those hired locally: 81,425
Worldwide total of U.S. military personnel: 1,840,062
Plus dependents and DoD civilian officials: 473,306
Plus those hired locally: 203,328
Inventory of overseas physical holdings:
Barracks, hangars, hospitals, and other buildings owned my military: 32,327
Leased by military: 16,527
Inventory covers overseas acreage: 687,347 acres
Inventory covers “worldwide” acreage: 29,819,492 acres*
*Includes U.S. but does not include garrisons in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq (106 garrisons in 2005), Israel, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Uzbekistan and other countries not directly identified.
Military pay includes a variety of allowances, bonuses, and incentives but almost all receive:
Basic pay, see table below
Basic allowance for housing (BAH) depends on number of factors including rank, location, and dependents. Ranges from $6.90 to $$2823.50 per month tax exempt
Basic allowance for sustenance (BAS) defrays a portion of cost of food and matches Agriculture Department index. Ranges from $192.74 for officers to $279.88 for enlisted per month tax exempt.
Basic Army pay in 2007 (gross, per month, taxable): (2)
| Enlisted 1 with less than four months of service: | $1,203.90 |
| Enlisted 1 with less than 2 years of service: | $1,301.40 |
| Enlisted 4 with less than 2 years of service: | $1,699.50 |
| Enlisted 7 with less than 2 years of service: | $2,339.10 |
| Warrant Officer with less than 2 years of service: | $2,413 |
| Commissioned Officer 1 with less than 2 years of service: | $2,469.30 |
| Commissioned Officer 8 with less than 2 years of service: | $8,453.10 |
| Four-star officers with 38 or more years of service tops out at: | $16,795.50 |
Bonuses per month, taxable): (3)
Hardship duty pay for enlisted in hardship location (HDP-L): from $50 - $150 per month
Troops involuntarily spending more than 12 months in combat zone: $200 (tax-free depending on zone)
Hardship duty pay for enlisted for special missions (HDP-M): $150
Imminent danger pay: $225
Retirement pay for those who entered service before September 8, 1980 (gross, per month, taxable). Figures for 20 and 30 years service
| Enlisted 1: | $626 | $976 |
| Enlisted 4: | $992 | $1,547 |
| Enlisted 7: | $1,715 | $$3,153 |
| Warrant Officer 1: | $1,785 | $2,892 |
| Warrant Officer 5: | $2,480 | $4,837 |
| Commissioned Officer 1: | $1,494 | $2,329 |
| Commissioned Officer 10: | $5,172 | $10,881 |
Disability payments in 2005: (4)
| Officer | Enlisted | |
| Army | $2,009 | $770 |
| MC | $2,266 | $753 |
| Navy | $2,337 | $818 |
| AF | $2,604 | $929 |
Montgomery GI Bill (Active Duty):
Service members must decline to participate within 3 days to two weeks in uniform (depending on service). Cost: $100 or more per month. Vets can use benefits up to ten years after last separation. For more info see: www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/tatu.htm.
Note: Talk to veterans to learn how the Bill worked for them as many vets find the Bill offers insufficient funds for college.
Cost of Global War on Terrorism, approximately $500 billion as follows: (5)
| Iraq: | $370 billion |
| Afghanistan: | $100 billion |
| Homeland security activities: | $30 billion |
For costs to your neighborhood, see National Priorities Project meter: http://costofwar.com/index.html).
Note: Even if the war were to end in days, its costs to taxpayers will drag on for decades. Harvard economist Linda Bilmes and Columbia University's Joseph Stiglitz estimate total costs could reach $2.2 trillion..."and counting."
Footnotes:
(1) Data from Johnson, Chalmers. Nemesis. 2006. pps. 138 to 141.
(2) Data from Army Times 2007 Basic Pay: http://www.armytimes.com/static/money/pay_charts/2007basicpay/
(3) Handbook for Military Life, Benefits ’07.
(4) “Army Times,” 19 March, 2007. Note: Service members officially rated at least 30 percent permanently disabled, according to guidelines, are entitled to disability retirement pay from the Defense Department. To qualify, they must have spent at least eight years in the military, or the disability must have been incurred in the line of duty. If one of the requirements is met, retirees can receive retired pay based on the larger of two formulas: multiplying the retired pay base either by the percentage of the disability rating or by 2.5 percent of the number of years of service, up to a 75 percent ceiling. The Defense Department and VA disability retirement systems have important differences, chief among them the fact that the services assign ratings only to medical conditions deemed “physically unfitting,” with the intent of compensating for the loss of a military career. VA may rate any service-connected condition to compensate for the loss of civilian employability.
(5) http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/07/1027/