Originally posted by: nick1985
Well, Im not so sure "everyone" can do it. And that really depends on the branch too, they vary widely. If you think "pretty much everyone" can hack Paris Island USMC training, then you should rethink that statement.
Also, you are full of pooh when you say anyone with a GED can get 50k+ a year in the military. There is NO WAY that is possible, in fact soldiers would be lucky to get half that. If I make it through USMC OCS (need a 4 year degree to even apply), a 2nd lieutenants pay is 43k a year starting so there is no way in hell someone who enlists will make close to what an officer gets.
And that brings me to my last point, not just anyone can become an officer in the military (you nicely generalized the whole military). Look up Marine OCS and see the graduation rates, then tell me anyone can hack it.
You are not correct about the pay, I know it because I made it myself. Someone in Marine OCS probably shouldn't be trying to explain the realities of the military to someone who spent the better part of a decade in it.
I've actually broken this down in previous threads, but here it goes again. Base pay for an E-5 with 2 years in (which is what I was when I made it) is very close to $2,000 a month. We'll just round things off for ease. BAH for an E-5 without dependants is $1379 per month. BAS is somewhere around $280 per month. If you're on a ship then you're getting sea pay, flight pay, hazardous duty pay, etc... but I won't include those.
Assuming the worst case scenario which should be about 30% taxes counting state and federal... and I'm being generous here as I mentioned before many military members don't pay state taxes.
Base pay: $2,000 -30% taxes = $1400
BAH: (San Diego) $1,379 -untaxed = $1379
BAS: $280 -untaxed = $280
Total per month: = $3059
Total per year: = $36,708
Now, that's take home. If you see what you would need to make in a civilian job in order to have $36,708 take home each year, I multiplied it by .30 (our 'close enough' tax rate) and came up with $47,720. That's pretty close to $50,000 a year... and thats not including ANY additional pay which a large percentage of people in the military will qualify for in some way or another. And no, you don't need anything more then a GED to make that.
You are also taking very selective areas to make exceptions to what I said. Just because everyone can't make it through Marine boot camp doesn't mean they couldn't have joined the Navy, the Chair Force, or the Army. I just said the military because I didn't want to make a super long irritating post giving caveats for every concievable situation in which a certain segment of the military is more exclusive then another. Okay? Not everyone can be a Navy SEAL either, but it doesn't change the fact that Johnny Jackass who dropped out of high school can jump his stupid ass into the navy and in 2 years be making more money then my mom was with a Masters +20 teaching kids in an inner city school.
I've put those same numbers out before. I feel like I should just save this post and copy/paste it next time someone tries to complain that the military doesn't make a lot of money.
EDIT: I forgot to mention this is what I made while I was based in San Diego. SD is more expensive for housing then most cities, but it is less expensive then some and is in fact home to some of the largest concentations of military personnel in the entire country. I feel it's a fair place to use.