<I believe our service personnel do need a pay raise. The average frontline soldier makes less than a lot of McDonald's Store Supervisors.
And has a little more difficult job.

Are you including room & board? Medical benefits? Travel expenses? $10 to $20 for a trans-Atlantic hop, and an ID card for a passport, seems pretty reasonable.

No, don't put them at the upper end of the medium income. But, yes, give them a living wage. For instance my nephew USAF Married with two children, in school. His wife is employed, if she were not, they would qualify for a large number of social services, including food stamps. That isn't right Dan

First of all, I agreed with Ms. Williams because she agreed that service members were entitled to the 4.85% raise they received. I also agreed with her that service members did not need the proposed 25% pay raise. That's just ridiculous.

While they are supplied with a number of benefits any civilian would not have, they should be able to do their job without worrying about getting the rent paid every month, or that little Susan gets new shoes.

Supplied benefits any civilian would LOVE to even consider.

Housing (on the waiting list?) and/or housing supplemental pay is supplied. Always.

In the event on-post housing is not available (a given for new arrivals), a quick trip to the post housing office will get a soldier a list of approved off-post housing. Rent for quarters listed for off-post housing will be within the budget allotted.

And renters enjoy being on the post’s housing list, because repairs to their quarters are made with first-rate equipment, and by people who actually care what they’re doing, because the military inspects the quarters before the soldier moves in -- as well as before the soldier moves out. Renters like this. to stay on the list, they stay within the budget.

There is also additional pay for each dependant a service member claims.

Food stamps and the military is nothing new, since the food stamp system is calculated on base pay. Housing and dependant allotment are not part of base pay. Any soldier who is on food stamps, and I’ve met many, who still cannot balance the family budget wouldn’t last 5 five minutes in the commercial world.

When I left the military in ’91, a soldier had to pay for medical and dental. It came to a whopping $10 to $15 bucks a visit. It may have gone up since, but I’m sure it’s still extremely affordable.

Yes, the military is a tough life, and there are times you wish like hell you never signed that damned piece of paper, but it’s far, far, far from poverty. I considered it comfortable.

Yes, they more than deserved the 4.85% raise -- but 25%?

Dan