Those who defend the nation can barely get by

[Accord]

I am well aware of the salaries in the military and I knew they were pretty low, but I had no idea things were actually this bad... wow.

 

Those who defend the nation were trying to make ends meet.

 

At 8 a.m., the patch of lawn was covered with beds, tables, dressers and desks. Within 45 minutes, almost all the furniture was gone. The price was right everything was free.

 

The items had been gathered by volunteers who go "trashing" every Tuesday, scouring garbage left at curbs on the base. Every Saturday, they give away what they collect to needy, eager Marine families.

 

Their efforts reflect a cold reality for thousands of low-ranking men and women in uniform assigned to high-priced Washington and elsewhere: military salaries, never substantial, often fall far short of what they need.

 

"We're talking about the basics of life here, and they don't have it," said Lisa Joles, a Marine wife who created the volunteer network two years ago. "Sometimes, they don't have a thing. I didn't know how large the problem was until I got to Quantico."

 

Of the 40,000 enlisted soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen based in the area, many feel compelled to work part-time or even full-time civilian jobs to supplement what their country pays them, according to military families and officials. Hundreds more, especially low-ranking troops with families, rely on food stamps or other forms of federal assistance. Many depend on the charity of their fellow troops.

 

"How can we send members of the military to Kosovo and expect them to do their job if they're concerned about the family being able to afford new school shoes?" said Sydney Hickey, a spokeswoman for the National Military Family Association in Alexandria.

 

Since 1982, military salaries have fallen nearly 14 percent behind civilian pay, according to federal figures. After pleas from military supporters, Congress has tentatively approved a 4.8 percent pay raise, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, and many service members will receive a second raise six months later.

 

But the raises still will leave a military-civilian gap of more than 11 percent, according to studies. The situation is particularly hard on families and 53 percent of the enlisted force nationally is married.

 

"A single Marine, with due diligence, can get by," said Thomas Loughlin, who heads the Marine Corps Community Services at Quantico. "The real problem is people with families. It's a sad indictment of society that somebody who's willing to give his life for his country gets paid close to minimum wage."

 

Pentagon officials acknowledge that some service members face severe hardships, not only in the Washington area but also in other parts of the country. But they insist that such cases do not reflect conditions for the vast majority of troops, and they point to statistics showing that junior enlisted service members earn more than the general population of high school-educated 18- to 23-year-olds.

 

At the same time, the officials said that improving pay is critical to Pentagon efforts to solve problems in retaining people in the armed forces. "A lot of our troops are waiting to see what happens with the pay package," said Rudy de Leon, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

 

Military pay varies considerably by rank, length of service and other factors. A single Marine private first class, for example, would earn a base pay of $1,075 a month, plus a subsistence allowance of $225 a month for food. Those who live off base also receive a housing allowance that varies by jurisdiction and would be $612 for someone living near Quantico.

 

In addition, members of the armed forces receive some benefits, such as medical care, at a fraction of the cost for most civilians. Commissaries offer items that are 30 percent cheaper than at civilian stores, according to Pentagon figures. Service members also do not pay federal taxes on their food and housing allowances.

 

A recent Pentagon study found that, overall, only 450 of the 1.4 million members of the armed forces were living at or below the national poverty level, which is $13,332 for a family of three.

 

But advocates for military families said that the statistics and benefits do not reflect how difficult it is for many men and women to both serve their country and live comfortably in peacetime.

 

"We believe there are an awful lot of families who are living at the wire, and frequently fall over it," Hickey said.

 

Several evenings each week, as soon as he finishes duty at Quantico, Lance Cpl. Harry Schein darts off base, picks up his 14-month-old son from day care and drops him off with the boy's mother.

 

Then he drives up I-95 to Arlington and joins a group of Marines who moonlight by moving office furniture until about 11 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays, he works from 4 p.m. until midnight as a security guard in Alexandria.

 

"Most of the Marines I know are living check to check and barely making it by and have to get some kind of supplement," said Schein, whose pretax paycheck is $2,168 a month, including housing and food allowances. That, he said, is not enough to pay for his $595-a-month apartment in Dale City, buy gas and car insurance, pay for day care and get clothes and food for his son, Devantre.

 

On top of his part-time work, Schein has had to turn to the government's Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, which provides federal vouchers so he can buy formula, juice and baby cereal. The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society also gave him several hundred dollars in commissary vouchers to buy food.

 

"All the pride in the world, all the awe people have when they see a Marine, all that isn't going to pay the bills," said Schein, 22.

 

The Queens, N.Y., native said that he joined the Marines to make his parents proud but that he is likely to leave when his enlistment runs out next year. "As much as I love being a Marine, monetarily, I can't," he said.

 

Military installations do not generally track how many troops receive public assistance. But many officials who work with low-income service members in the Washington area said that the problem is significant and has grown worse in recent years.

 

Many soldiers "can only afford food, clothing and shelter and getting to work," said Brenda Robbins, an Army Community Services worker at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. "Saving is almost obsolete."

 

A recent survey of 165 soldiers at Walter Reed found that 41 percent were using some form of public or private charity, according to Bill Swisher, a spokesman.

 

Commissaries at Fort Belvoir, Fort Meade, Fort Myer, Andrews Air Force Base, Quantico and Patuxent River Naval Air Station collected more than $800,000 worth of food stamps and WIC vouchers last year, according to the Defense Commissary Agency.

 

More than $21 million worth of WIC vouchers were redeemed at military commissaries last year, according to Pentagon figures. Nearly 12,000 service members less than 1 percent of the force received food stamps in 1995, the last year a study was conducted.

 

"I think it stinks, really, that a member of the armed forces has to go to food stamps," said Lance Cpl. Damon Durre, 25. But that's what the Quantico Marine did after finding he could not support his wife and two children on his take-home pay.

 

Service members in this area do not receive cost of living adjustments in their pay, unlike those in New York, San Francisco and Boston. Washington does not qualify as a high-cost area under a formula used by the military.

 

Housing allowances are adjusted according to jurisdiction, but many service members say it is not enough to cope with area rents, and many end up living 40 or 50 miles from their duty stations.

 

"The cost of living will eat you alive," said Sgt. Edna Jackson-Jones, a Marine at Quantico who tried to find affordable housing near the base but instead lives with her three children in an apartment in Fredricksburg. "I had to go further south because it's cheaper down there."

 

Quantico offers classes in budgeting and buying cars and directs needy Marines to emergency aid, but officials say it is difficult to assist all those facing difficulties.

 

"We have a lot of problems reaching out to them, because many times, they don't want you to know they have a problem," said Maj. Kim Hunter, deputy director of Marine Community Services. "It's not their nature."

 

One result is that members of the military routinely work second jobs, often without seeking permission from superiors, as required, military officials acknowledged. Enlisted men and women sell goods at Potomac Mills, flip hamburgers at fast food restaurants, do construction work, deliver packages for UPS, stock lumber at Home Depot.

 

"Seems like everybody who's been here awhile has a part-time job," said Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Hayes, who has a second job as a mover. "You really don't have enough money to make it to the next pay check otherwise.

[MarlinsFan253]

It helps when on deployment you can get subsistance allowance and Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). I felt rich while I was deployed though that might be because I have never held any other job that paid above $6.15 per hour. That is okay, money is not a big deal to me anyway.

 

For a single guy, I was pretty satisfied with my pay. But I sure wouldn't have been without the SA or BAH. That would have been terrible.

[Flying_Mollusk]

Its sickenining. Military families have it really really difficult. For all the patriotism we espouse in this country, we need to actually practice it by treating our soliders better. Not just by putting a yellow ribbon on our car.

[FutureGM]

Its sickenining. Military families have it really really difficult. For all the patriotism we espouse in this country, we need to actually practice it by treating our soliders better. Not just by putting a yellow ribbon on our car.

845691[/snapback]

Agreed. Our soldiers deserve the best benefits.

[MarlinFan10]

The military is a pretty good deal for single soldiers, but it's almost impossible to have a family. My father had to leave active duty 15 years ago to get more moony.

[FutureGM]

The military is a pretty good deal for single soldiers, but it's almost impossible to have a family. My father had to leave active duty 15 years ago to get more moony.

845754[/snapback]

I guess he didn't pay for his kids' education, either.

[Fish Fillet]

Try looking at it from another perspective for a sec......

 

Ever wonder how well off "low-ranking" military members would be at this stage in their lives had they not entered into military service?

 

I'm guessing that if you compared military/non-military within the same demographics that those who entered the military are substantially better off that those who didn't.

[reclusedx]

Well unless your an E-5 (E-4 in the service for more than 4 years)or married you wont get BAH ...BAH here in Jax is about $900 which isnt that bad but a couple of close friends from my ship that are married with kids are struggling and its sad ,really.

[reclusedx]

Try looking at it from another perspective for a sec......

 

Ever wonder how well off "low-ranking" military members would be at this stage in their lives had they not entered into military service?

 

I'm guessing that if you compared military/non-military within the same demographics that those who entered the military are substantially better off that those who didn't.

848975[/snapback]

 

good point...im considered low ranking; been in the military for a year and couple of months and im doing better than i would in the civilian world i believe. Im still living paycheck to paycheck dont get me wrong but i have more than i would if i wasnt in. Im hoping to save a lot on our next deployment, we'll be out for 6 months :-/

[MarlinsFan253]

Well unless your an E-5 (E-4 in the service for more than 4 years)or married you wont get BAH ...BAH here in Jax is about $900 which isnt that bad but a couple of close friends from my ship that are married with kids are struggling and its sad ,really.

849142[/snapback]

That isn't necessarily true. I got BAH as an E-3 while deployed to GTMO. The military is definitely trying to put more money in the hands of the soldiers these days anyway that they can. You can scrounge around and find money to be had.

 

While deployed, everyone in my unit got BAH, Subsistance Allowance, and we eventually found some payment where we would get an additional $50 per month. That isn't much but I to this day have no idea what it was for. It's money.

 

I'm an E-4 now, and drill pay is extremely depressing compared to active duty pay. But, I am getting plenty of money for college so it all works out nicely. I wouldn't mind getting deployed again soon just to fill up my bank account. The difference between working on a permanent duty station and being deployed is, you have no reason to spend money while deployed. It adds up nicely.

 

If you are married, your wife is at home spending all your money. I felt sorry for those guys. I can't imagine how I would have felt during my deployment doing all that crazy stressful work just to have my money spent on junk back home.

 

Also, not all of this message was directed at the person I quoted. Obviously he/she knows most of this stuff already.

[OldSand]

MarlinsFan, don't you also get awesome benefits on things like groceries and such? And tax breaks?

[MarlinsFan253]

MarlinsFan, don't you also get awesome benefits on things like groceries and such? And tax breaks?

851804[/snapback]

Not really. Depending on where you are, you can get good deals at post exchanges, but not always. A gallon of milk in Guantanamo was $5. We usually had to pay more for groceries but got slightly better deals on general merchandise. There was no sales tax so that helped a bit.

 

As for tax breaks in general, state taxes are nothing while we are on duty, but our governor is trying to make us pay state taxes while on deployment. She is a moron. I don't see why we should pay state taxes while not living in the state or country. It makes no sense.

[Shamrock]

Don't the ships technically count as American soil?

[MarlinsFan253]

Don't the ships technically count as American soil?

852415[/snapback]

I don't know. I'm not Navy, I'm Army.