What is the average pay for a soldier in Iraq?

Question

I'm talking about an enlisted Army man, in the service for 2 years, who has been sent to Iraq twice now. He has a new wife living at home with her mother, a baby on the way, and an ex-wife and child to whom he pays support. The new wife is telling people he's making over $8,000 a month, and she says the Army is paying for a house in South Carolina for her even though she isn't living there. She also claims that he's getting 20 days leave when the baby is due and that, even though he signed up for 6 more years in the Army, he's been promised he won't have to go back to Iraq. For those who know, does any of this ring true?

Answer 1

She's jerking your chain.

I might believe him, if he's in the top grade with 26 years or more of service, but 2 years????

What comes out of the north end of a southbound horse???

Answer 2

First of all if he's enlisted and lets say he had some college under his belt before he signed up he could only be the paygrade of an E-4 maybe an E-5 by now. Ok the financial part: I don't think she's telling the truth because there is no way a lower enlisted makes that much money even with housing allowance. When my husband was in Iraq as an E-5 with 4 dependents back then with 7yrs in service we made about $5000 and that is with housing allowance and cola because we were stationed in Germany at the time.
As far as his 20days leave goes when she's due...that's somewhat correct BUT he will only have 14 days at home the other days are considered travel days. My husband is currently stationed in the middle east and had his 2wks R&R in May...
As far as him being "promised" (lol) that he will not have to go back to Iraq...that's a bunch of bologna
Eventually he will move to a new unit that will deploy and he will be there right with them. There are no exceptions!! Maybe if he had a medical condition but I know so many soldiers (god bless them all) who have been wounded terribly in Iraq and had to get redeployed once they healed. The army needs bodies in Iraq that's why they are talking about lowering the requirements to sign up and lighten up on basic training..what makes him so special??
I think she's just feeding you a bunch of bs because she thinks people don't know. In the end she's just going to look bad because she was lying.

Answer 3

He must have enlisted as a General. Leave time is 30 days a year. Pay depends on the persons rank and time in service. The Army provides housing to people who have served at least four years, the housing is located on the Army Base, There is also a rank requirement to qualify for housing. Housing is never free, the amount will be deducted from the check each month. There is a generous amount of money when a person re-enlists. There
are no promises made where a military person will serve their tour of duty. You have recited a fairy tale.

Answer 4

Would depend a lot on his rank and location in Iraq. Two years of service isn't much, so I'm assuming he's an E1 or E2 still, perhaps an E3 if he has applied himself.

But from the sounds of things, with the military stretched as thin as it is, I highly doubt they'd agree not to deploy a soldier to Iraq as part of the reenlistment contract. As for $8,000 a month...that's $4,000 a pay check, which is more than most junior officers make and more than most senior enlisted get. So that is definately false.

Answer 5

For an enlisted man the pay does not sound right. I know you start making 8,000 a month if your an officer (and thats if youve been in for a long time and your a high ranking officer). Military pay is weird, like a major in the air force can get 8,000 a month.. but his base pay(what he can spend on whatever) is 5,000 but all together food allowance, housing allowance it all adds up.

An enlisted man doesnt make nearly this much money. The army will help you pay for your house but only a small portion (still helps alot) but they wont pay for all of it.

Last i dont know about the 20 days of leave but it sounds like shes full of it

Answer 6

ROFLMAO...an enlisted with 2 years service that makes $8000 a month.. now thats funny..My husband is senior NCO and has been in the Army 14 years, damn we are missing out...if he is in Iraq he will get 18 days leave..and no one is promised to never to return to Iraq, if that were a re enlistment option EVERYONE would re enlist and the Army wouldnt have trouble making its goal...and the housing part can be true, if they have a place where they are stationed because they would get BHA.

Answer 7

$8,000.00?! My husband (who has been in 9 years and is senior enlisted) is missing some pay then! No, she's NOT getting $8,000.00 a month; that's a load of crap. Yes, if they're stationed in South Carolina and live off post the Military provides them BAH (housing allowance); but it's not going to be much for someone who's only been in for 2 years. You get BAH for where ever your duty station is. If he's not stationed in N. C. then no, he's not getting money to pay for a house there. The 20 days leave...if he's got the leave saved up it would be up to his chain of command on whether or not they approved or denied that amount of time. And as far as being promised he won't go back to Iraq just because he's been twice already...there is NO WAY they can promise him that; there are plenty of people on their third and fourth tours.

EDIT:

To the person below me; there is not a certain rank people need to be to gain Military houseing and you don't need to have served 4 years, either. If you are married and want to live on post, you put your name on the housing list and when they get to your name they call and let you know what unit is avaible and you either accept or decline the house. My husband and I lived in junior enlisted houseing when he was E-1, then when we PCSed out of that state he had made it to E-4. We lived in an apartment until our name came up on the housing list in the new state and lived in housing designated for E-4 to E-6. Then, after that we bought a house; but if we chose to live on post again there would be senior enlisted housing avaliable to us. Houseing is avalible to any service member who is married; no matter what rank. Crimeny; they even give the General a house, and we all know HE can afford one off post!

Answer 8

Most of that statement sounds like a bunch of bs. I can tell you there's no way he could get "no future deployments" put in his contract, thats a bunch of bs. And since he only has 2 years in, he'd be an e3 possibly e4 which means his base pay is only about 1600-1700 dollars a month. If you add combat and seperation pay that may bring it up to about 2250. Yes he would still be getting a housing allowance since he's married but still isn't going to be a lot since he isn't very high ranking, so I'd make a rough estimate of him making some where between 3 and 4 grand a month, probably closer to 3.

Answer 9

While your pay check does increase substantially while you are serving over there; there is no way in HELL he is making $8000 a month with only 2 years in service!!!! He wouldn't be making that with 12 years of service!!! Hazard duty, endanger pay, tax free, seperation, BAH/BAQ and any other pay that you receive while over there does not equal $8000 a month!!! If this is something new then I'm going back into the service so that I can get that check!

Answer 10

in 2003 I was an E-6 with dependants and over 16 years of service. I was only taking in $6,000 per month. There is no way that someone with only 2 years in service is making that. Even if he is an officer that is way off the mark.

Answer 11

um..yea she's a liar..i dont care where her husband is stationed or where their home is..base pay is the same for all ranks (unless your TIS (time in service) is longer than the next soldiers...he's probably making around...3000 a month or maybe a lil more. Its tax free but 8000 is just insane..not even an e5 with dependents will make that..