Posted: 10/23/2010 6:21:42 PM EDT
|
Ok so I'm headed to Afghanistan in a few months and I'm trying to figure out just how much I will be making. I have found a pay calculated at military.com but I'm not sure what all extra pay I will qualify for.
I was hoping some of you guys already over there can help me out. I'm an E3, married with 3 kids and serve in the guard. I will be performing MP duties such as convoy escorts, route recon, QRF, tasked out with infantry so I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing some action. Basically just want to know what extra pay i will qualify for. Any help will be appreciated. |
| Unfortunatly, the amount of action you see has nothing to do with how much pay you get...you'll get the same extra pay that someone who never leaves thier FOB will get. The biggest and best benefit you'll get is combat zone tax exclusion...this means no federal and state taxe (you will still get doced medicare and something else) You will also get Hostile fire pay ($225 per month), hardship duty pay ($125 per month if i remember correctly) and if your married you get family seperation pay ($250 per month).. You will also get $3.50 per day per diem that will be claimed upon your return on a travel voucher |
|
Ok you'll get:
Base pay BAH. BAS Family Separation pay ($250) Imminent Danger pay($225) Hardship Duty Pay ($150) Minus(-) SGLI for you and your spouse and dental insurance (make sure you set this up through tricare dental) You won't see Per Diem until you return home and fill out a travel voucher. Your travel pay will be around $2000. Its a sweet check to get. Your whole paycheck will be tax free, but you might see taxes taken out, then you'll get an LES a few days later saying that they paid you for the taxes taken out. I'd say as an E3 it would be around $35000-40000/yr. Also, you'll probably get E4 over there. Be prepared for them to take your BAH money back and then give you E4 bah in whole. For example, if you get backdated E4 BAH for 2 months, they'll pay you lump sum what you're owed, then debt your LES for the E3 bah you received for those 2 months. Its retarded why they can't just give you the difference. This happened to me. I got E6 BAH backdated for 4 months, and they debted me around $6000 that they took out of about 6 LES's from the E5 BAH I was receiving. Pissed me off. |
|
Quoted:
Ok you'll get: Base pay BAH. BAS Family Separation pay ($250) Imminent Danger pay($225) Hardship Duty Pay ($150) Minus(-) SGLI for you and your spouse and dental insurance (make sure you set this up through tricare dental) You won't see Per Diem until you return home and fill out a travel voucher. Your travel pay will be around $2000. Its a sweet check to get. Your whole paycheck will be tax free, but you might see taxes taken out, then you'll get an LES a few days later saying that they paid you for the taxes taken out. I'd say as an E3 it would be around $35000-40000/yr. Also, you'll probably get E4 over there. Be prepared for them to take your BAH money back and then give you E4 bah in whole. For example, if you get backdated E4 BAH for 2 months, they'll pay you lump sum what you're owed, then debt your LES for the E3 bah you received for those 2 months. Its retarded why they can't just give you the difference. This happened to me. I got E6 BAH backdated for 4 months, and they debted me around $6000 that they took out of about 6 LES's from the E5 BAH I was receiving. Pissed me off. Either I am not getting paid correctly or HDP for Iraq is currently at $100.00 not $150.00. |
|
The posts listed are pretty accurate. When I was deployed to OIF 07-09 all the "extra" pay totalled $550. Federal tax exemptions equaled around $300.
So for the avearge Soldier you will be making an extra $800-900 per month IN ADDITION to your normal entitlements (BAH, BAS, etc.) The ones you hear about making thousands extra were the ones who were able to eliminate rent, car payments, cell phone , etc. A married Soldier who continues to have obligations back home, not so much. Also remember you'll be spending money while deployed too. Set yourself a monthly "allowance" for incidentals,;candy, tobacco, movies, etc. Also you'll spend a little chunk of change (a few hundred) when you 1st get there for hooch junk: fan, tv, convertors, etc. One piece of advice is to contribute to the Savings Deposit Plan (SDP) which has a 10% return. A few hundred a month plus the interest paid for a sweet cruise for the wife and I upon my re-deployment. Best of luck and watch your six ! |
|
I am in country and I pulled this right from my OCT LES
BASIC PAY Depends BAH WITH DEPNS Depends IMMINENT DGR PAY 225.00 BAS (MONTHLY) 323.87 DEPLOYED PER DIEM 108.50 HARDSHIP DUTY-LOC 100.00 FSA-T, TYPE II 250.00 TSGLI REFUND 1.00 COMBAT SGLI 3.25 Semper Fi Monk |