Lie if you are not a DOD fed. But take this just to see the great ideas some feel should be the options on military pay. Then read the rest of this post, I copied off another FNR story I did a little research on this morning. Well I for one like to compare the bigger picture. Just for grins I did a mid grade military member. Know that an O3 Captain in the Army makes a LOT more. Maybe someone should run the numbers for a Major with 18 years to see how far in the SES category we would need to earn to be compatible as Feds. For the record an E6 (SSG) with a day over 8 years of service with a spouse earns $37,717 a year. I used a low 15% income tax to figure out that same person makes an additional $19,291 just on housing and food allowance. This is a total of $57,008 or a rounding error for GS11 step 1. I did not assume other federal tax free incentives said military can make, or add in state income tax most military get out of, and used a low cost area of Boise Idaho for RUS for federal and that locality for military housing. I could have added in the 10-15% or so the federally funded commissary system saves a military person annually on groceries (sales tax assumed), I could have added in the federally subsidized child care, COLA in a higher cost areas, very well priced Tricare health care, and many other factors, like all salary tax free with added COLA, housing in nine bathroom villas, and $10,000 of thousands in tax free education allowance in Kuwait. I did that once and the same E6 in Kuwait came out at GS12 step 8 or something. Then factor in military spouse preference into federal jobs, military buy back of that home they used tax free housing money to pay for and a VA loan to live in with the federal tax advantages of home ownership, then the Govt paying them back for equity lost in a forced move. If I factored it all in that SSG would fall closer to GS13 step 8. So I say the military is over paid, given a GS11 is the same as about a O3 when it comes to military grade of the deployed civilian work force. The following is off the DOD server, it is exactly as it is posted on different pay and incentive pages. (Does the following sound anything like a welfare state) http://militarypay.defense.gov/pay/fssa.html . Though current military compensation is equal to or exceeds the private sector, military families may still encounter challenges during these difficult economic times. Allowances are the second most important element of military pay. Allowances are moneys provided for specific needs, such as food or housing. Monetary allowances are provided when the government does not provide for that specific need. Those who do not live in government housing receive allowances to assist them in obtaining commercial housing. A substantial, but often unseen and overlooked, aspect of military pay is certain built-in tax advantages. Most allowances are tax-exempt.