Pay, Health Insurance and Vacation Time Among Benefits of Soldiers in the US Army

Over the past 3 years I have served as a US Army Recruiter in a large city on the east cost. In this time I have determined that there are very few people who understand the day to day life of a soldier. In general the information that society has about the military and soldiers is limited to what they see in movies and what is seen on the news. Sadly this is a very portrayal of the life of a soldier really is. The reality is that we are not much different in work and play as the rest of the American society.

Let me first start by addressing the work aspect of what we do. There are 180 different ways to serve in the US Army. I am an Internment/Resettlement Specialist, that's a Corrections Officer (CO) is civilian speak. My job is almost identical to my civilian counter parts. In fact most the if the US Army confinement facilities are accredited by a civilian organization. I work shift work as do civilian COs. At the end of my eight hour shift I participate in physical training then go home. The other 179 jobs in the Army operate in a very similar way. I work with an Operating Room Technician. His military training is the equivalent of an Associates Degree in the civilian world. When he goes to work it is in a hospital. After his day of assisting surgeons he is done. Also, he is nationally certified as an Operation Room Technician. That means he is able to work in any state in the US. There are the few exceptions, those being the combat jobs (Infantry, Armor, Cavalry Scout, etc..). Even then the time you spend doing additional training is compensated. Now granted this is the Army and there are things that are different from the civilian world. For example you have to go work every day that you are supposed to be there. There is no taking a day for yourself. If you happen to get sick there are ways to ensure that you get taken care of though. For the most part work in the US Army is much like work in civilian job. There are rewards and consequences for what do and do not do while in the Army. I would never say that anyone would love everyday in the Army but who loves everyday in the job they hold now.

As for play, I believe the Army is unrivaled in the opportunities available for leisure. The first and most important all soldiers are entitled to 30 days of vacation a year! That starts from the first year you serve. I challenge anyone to find an organization that offers that much time off to entry level employees. Secondly, there are vacation resorts around the world that cater specifically to the military. Shades of Green located on the Disney World property comes to mind. Also, the Armed Forces Vacation Club allows military members and their family to vacation the world round for a fraction of the cost to the civilian world. During my time as a recruiter I have spoken to countless young men and women who all say that they want to go to college partly to live the experience. Those friends of mine that have gone to college have told me that a big part of the college experience is having fun and blowing off steam. As a young single soldier I can assure that I did an awful lot of that. The biggest difference between myself and my friends who went to college was that they had to pay for that opportunity while I was being paid.

The last thing that I want to cover is the pay and tangible benefits that soldiers enjoy. It is no secret that the Army does make millionaires. It does however take care of its soldiers. In addition to the base pay that I receive I get additional tax free money for food every month. My family and I also receive free health care. This is an important thing to those if us who have children. Right now the it costs an average of $6000.00 to have a child in the US. I have three daughters I have not paid a single dime. Again this is the Army and the reality that I might be in harm's way is not forgotten. To help those families that have made the ultimate sacrifice there is a $400,000.00 life insurance policy on all soldiers. In the terrible event that a soldier is killed that money is paid out to whom ever he or she has identified. All of this comes at a very small cost. Less than $30.00 a month.

I hope that in writing this I have enlightened some to the life of what a soldier is like. I have no illusions that as a result of this article that people will be rushing to join the Army. My only hope is that people will understand that there is more to what being a soldier is than what is seen on the TV screen.