Posted on Apr 18, 2023
Pay Troops At Least $15 Per Hour? A GOP Lawmaker Wants to Raise the Military's Minimum Wage
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Interesting information.
Pay Troops At Least $15 Per Hour? A GOP Lawmaker Wants to Raise the Military's Minimum Wage
Posted from military.comPosted in these groups: 
Military Pay
Fair Pay
Military Pay Fair Pay
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
Philosophically I support the notion .. but like everything, the Devil is going to be in the details.
It's easy to just say "Well, if we're going to give $15/hour in many states, let's do it for our Servicemembers". Using the calculation of $15/hour * 40 hours/week * 52 weeks/year you get $31,200. Sounds easy, right? A brand new Soldier (E1>4 months) makes a bit more than $23k a year - $8k/year less than the hypothetical minimum wage figure, so if we bump up their monthly pay to $2,600 (from $1917.63) that will get them there (note: military are 'salaried' employees, not 'hourly' ones so the '40 hours' is just used for calculation purposes).
What about health insurance? While there are complaints about it, a military family saves from $12,000/year on up in health care premiums for what TRICARE covers.
Does BAH/BAS figure into the mix? For a junior enlisted Soldier with dependents, that's ~$1k to ~$4k a month depending on where they are stationed or they are given on-post housing with most utilities covered.
What about other factors? TSP contributions, specialty pay, educational incentives, etc. A lot of those are incentives given by companies to attract employees but aren't part of the base salary.
Don't get me wrong, I completely support higher pay for our troops, ESPECIALLY our junior enlisted. My issue is some knee-jerk reaction by lawmakers with the normal "THIS is what's going to fix the issue" approach without looking into the details.
It's easy to just say "Well, if we're going to give $15/hour in many states, let's do it for our Servicemembers". Using the calculation of $15/hour * 40 hours/week * 52 weeks/year you get $31,200. Sounds easy, right? A brand new Soldier (E1>4 months) makes a bit more than $23k a year - $8k/year less than the hypothetical minimum wage figure, so if we bump up their monthly pay to $2,600 (from $1917.63) that will get them there (note: military are 'salaried' employees, not 'hourly' ones so the '40 hours' is just used for calculation purposes).
What about health insurance? While there are complaints about it, a military family saves from $12,000/year on up in health care premiums for what TRICARE covers.
Does BAH/BAS figure into the mix? For a junior enlisted Soldier with dependents, that's ~$1k to ~$4k a month depending on where they are stationed or they are given on-post housing with most utilities covered.
What about other factors? TSP contributions, specialty pay, educational incentives, etc. A lot of those are incentives given by companies to attract employees but aren't part of the base salary.
Don't get me wrong, I completely support higher pay for our troops, ESPECIALLY our junior enlisted. My issue is some knee-jerk reaction by lawmakers with the normal "THIS is what's going to fix the issue" approach without looking into the details.
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Maj Robert Thornton
Agreed the details definitely need to be thought out before they are enacted COL Randall C..
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Good plan. But make sure that the things the young married troops qualify for, they don't lose with this pay raise or they will actually lose ground.
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I joined the Army in April 1964. The same discussion was going around then.
Yes, our military should be paid more. Yes, there should be no reason for our troops to be on food stamps. But let's look and the entire package. Why increase taxable pay and then come along and reduce other benefits, which is surely to happen.
By the way, when did the military go to a 40 hour work week?
Yes, our military should be paid more. Yes, there should be no reason for our troops to be on food stamps. But let's look and the entire package. Why increase taxable pay and then come along and reduce other benefits, which is surely to happen.
By the way, when did the military go to a 40 hour work week?
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Maj Robert Thornton
Stan, as COL Randall C. has already posted there would still be a lot to be hashed out. And you are correct, the military is not a 40 hour work week, but it is a baseline to work with.
I for one would like to see our junior enlisted paid more. I remember how many of them struggled to make ends meet, especially those who were married and had children.
I for one would like to see our junior enlisted paid more. I remember how many of them struggled to make ends meet, especially those who were married and had children.
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