Military pay now is a damn sight different than it was in the 70's and eary 80's.
There are several different factors involved with figuring pay scale:
Years served:
Rank:
Specialties:
Housing Allowances etc. Per Diems for travel . Hazardsous duty . . .etc
If Mr. Kilarney Rose was O-5 with 10 years in (they probably weren't all active?) his base salary would be:
$5,222 a month a little over 60 thousand a year with various bonuses thrown in. The per diems can really add up.
At 15 years: its 5 thousand more a year.
The enlisted get kind of shafted, but the officers are compensated.
Here is a basic link without including perks.
http://www.dfas.mil/money/milpay/pay/2003-REV1.pdf
Threaded Mode