Can someone really put a price on a job to defend our country? In the US Weekly Society Column it stated, "the U.S. Military overpays its enlisted members and they need a reduced rate." I read that one quote over and over, but still I can't see where they get the factual statement that proves the military to be overpaid. It's hard for me to sit here and not speak about this topic, I am married to an active service member. Although society believes our military soldiers are over paid, our soldiers have to settle with below minimum wages, with no overtime, and spend half of their enlistment overseas away from family fighting for our "societies" freedom.

Society views the military, pay wages is extremely high. I recently read that they wanted to put a freeze on the government spending. These people only see a very small piece of the puzzle. A piece that is far more complex than one knows. An example of this is, President Bush wants to pass another multibillion dollar bill for the military. What you don't realize is that it is for the supplies and equipment they need to do their jobs. None of this contact is received by the soldiers themselves. Also, they see that the military famil

ies can receive government housing or BAH (Basic Allowance Housing), this being extra money for rent or payment on a home. A few other amenities are over seas pay, food allowance, separation pay, etc. Once again, society only sees the small piece. What they don't realize is by breaking everything down, what the soldier is actually paid is quite different.

Unfortunately, military personnel have to settle with below minimum wages and no over time. Say for intense, you take the average pay at $24,000 per year (this based on an E-4 wage) after breaking this wage down, the soldier makes around three cents an hour. You think how can that be? A soldier is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And there is no overtime to compensate them with. That's what they would get three cents an hour. Now does that look like a soldier being over paid to you? In addition, you think about BAH/government housing. Govt. housing is furnished to the military, if you are on a waiting list. But the downfall to this is, you must keep everything in order. The commanding officer can come check your place at anytime, of any day and the result can be good, or it could be extremely bad. They can go to great lengths and move you out if you don't live to their standards. Living in govt. housing, you get no BAH. Now BAH on the other hand is supposed to cover rent and util

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 914
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)