ALright.. thank you TR.
Let me see if this all adds up... I found the following specifics from .mil online sources. I will attempt to put the SF soldiers pay into the form that he would have recieved if a contractor by adding in the ARmy benefits to his paycheck.
E8, 20 years, with incentives reported by TR given:
$3815 Base pay
1008.00 BAH
254.46 BAS
150.00 HDP
100.00 FLPP-1
225.00 Special duty incen. pay
1589.88 3 yr Reenlist bonus [(up to 15x basic/3 years)/12mos]
225.00 hostile fire zone pay
100.00 family separation pay
__________________________
$7468.04/month = $89,616.48 per year
- Now, factor in 30 days paid leave which equates to the above amount being paid for only 11 months of actual service. This works out to a "corrected" 12 mos paycheck(like the contracts were worded 360 days) to compensation on the scale of:
$89616.48 / 11 months(actual work) = $8146.95 X 12 months of the contract period =
$97,763.40 per year- Now factor in the fact that Soldiers do not pay federal income tax on any of the pay while serving in combat zone. That means the following:
$97,763.40 X 25% federal tax bracket = $24,440.75 tax benefit
Now, that sums $97,763.40 + 24,440.75 =
$122,204.15
- also remember that as a Gov. employee, your half of the self employment tax is covered by the gov. So lets add in the extra 7.5% you would be paying to the IRS for that too.
$122,204.15 X .075 = $9165. 31 tax self employ taxsavings
so its now $122,204.15 + $9165.31 =
$ 131,369.46
- and finally to conclude the purely monetary COMPENSATION conversion over into contractor wages... based on what TR stated about being deployed on average six months of your time as a AD SF NCO...
TOtal SF compensation:
$131,369.46 for on average 6 mos deployed per year
Total compensation for contractor for a equal 6 mos deployment: 300,000 / 2 =
$150,000 with no benefits,etc
That is a much better comparison when you consider all the other benefits included below that are automatic with the US SF soldiers mission: here are a few things I haven't even factored in to the equation... some of which aren't availble at any cost unless you are a member of the Army.
- The unlimited and unrestricted -no cost to the soldier- disability and future pay supplement coverage afforded to US soldiers if wounded and disabled in action, there is transportation to and from the hostile zone provided at no charge, there is free transportation to home when on vacation/leave, there are free weapons-ammo-uniforms- coms-gas-support- access to US SF medical care in the combat zone-etc. , health/life insurance, all the other active duty benefits that can be accessed.
And let's not forget what NDD and TR have already mentioned which should be the MOST important "benefit" in the SF compensation package in the type of mission the "contractors" have to perform... true/dedicated/relentless support from all your fellow US soldiers/airmen/sailors; Air support from spectres,other CAS during operations; armored support when called for, access to REAL intell networks, free/continunous training including range acess and ammo, access to the best technology available to perform your mission at no cost, etc.
**edited to clarify final sum total above..thanks RL