I agree with this,

I am in the Army (single soldier), and I feel like I get treated differently (discriminated) not only pay than married soldiers.

i agree i think it is discrimination i think unmarried soldiers should get the same pay as married soldiers

I agree too, just because they are married doesn't mean they should get payed less. they all have their job to do and deserve the same amount.

that's right the fact that unmarried soldiers getting payed less is like saying we didn't leave anything behind when we decided to serve our great country

The so called "extra" pay us married soldiers get (BAH, BAS) are to cover things the military PROVIDES to single soldiers (3 hots and a cot) BAH comes no were close to covering adequate housing for enlisted with children. The Army has no onbase housing that is appropriate for my family. I have to have four bedrooms (mine, 13yr daughter, 11yr son, and 2mo son). BAH should not be based on rank only. Number of family members also should be included. Being married I have to get up earlier to drive to formation (in the parking lot of the barracks)in a vehicle I must provide, and ferry around single soldiers that are too lazy to walk to their own appointments. Sure, equal the pay out, but close the DFAC and Barracks.

My unit looks at it, that if I am a single soldier they have some broke, welfare project billets for me to live in (ww2 barracks). Therefore I am not entitled to BAH nor was I allowed permission to live off post in an apartment which I would pay for regardless of recieving BAH. It just did not seem right that I lived where I worked. There was constantly other soldiers acting out with loud music and childish behavior which I would be subject to0. Not to mention constant inspections, nco's with power trips and irrate officers roaming around. Why is it I cant retire from a hard days work to a comfortable and quiet home just because I not married. What if I am some poor ugly sap that cant catch a break with the ladies. Im pretty much hung out to dry. Not that Im probably already depressed I cant get a date but I live in welfare housing and as another man stated, eating shelter food. The food is horrible and to say the least, not healthy for anyone. Everything is greasy leftovers from the previous week. I no because my buddy's a cook. There is no way that 2 weeks of meals is worth $250 some odd dollars. So how does the army suppose to keep the morale and motivation of the single soldiers up when we are hung out to dry. Whats the point, who cares!!!
WhAtAbOuTmE...

This is a big issue. The extra pay is extra pay. Maybe AJ should try and find a new job if you don't think you get paid enough. Just because you chose to get married and have kids, it is not the military's responsibility to pay you for your kids, but they do, and in turn discriminate against those that are un married and force to live in the barracks. This is the same for separation pay, ect. The extra pay is just incentive for irresponsible soldiers to get married or have a child just for the money. This is not the kind Army that we want to build. A family is important, but the single soldiers work just as hard as those that are married.

On the DFAC's: half the time they change their hours without notice, or they are not even open at dinner time. On weekends it is a crap shoot if you are going to be able to find food. At this point you are paying out of your pocket anyway, and most likely you have to go to a resturant to find a decent meal that is about $20-30 dollars. If single soldiers were able to live off post and get comparable pay to those that are getting BAH/BAS they would have a kitchen and be able to prepare there own healthy food for themselves, at a much reduced cost.

One final note: The barracks are here to stay, I understand that, but the pay and the needs of the single sodliers need to be re-evaluated from bottom to top.

I agree completely. I recently got divorced and now have to take a pay cut to the single rate. I still have my house and everything else I had before. Now I have to pay out of pocket for the same things I was previously paid for. It's not right.

I am a widowed E4...at my prior duty station,I was allowed to keep my housing allowance,it was changed to single rate, I changed duty stations and I am just considered a single E4.I have pets, no children.Why should I change my living arrangements?I am paying out of pocket.Once my wife passed,3 days after returning from Iraq,and moved I saw the difference in treatment.My Bn commander denied my request and said he needed a memorandum on my situation, it was on the 4187 retard!

Let's not forget that when a married soldier gets promoted his BAH also goes up. It's like a double pay raise and it's not as if the family got bigger. And hey AJ, while you're driving home after PT listening to your music and smoking the single soldiers are waiting in line to get their food. When you're kicking off your shoes & watching whatever you want on TV while eating whatever you want we're eating chowhall food in full uniform watching CNN or ESPN. Also, not every single soldier lives in the same place as work, I live all the way across post and I know people off post who get to work faster. Let us not forget we have roommates who sleep five feet from us and take their sweet time in the shower while you wait to get in so you can change and go eat. The rooms are the size of half a studio appartment I wouldn't pay $300 for and I have to share it with some guy who plays some dumb music I hate. And when he has his friends over while you may not be there, who's to say they're not thieves? How would you like it if the 1SG came in your house and cussed you out for having trash in the trash can or if your bed wasn't made? Oh and what's this? You can't have that much alcohol in your room at one time, that's punishable by UCMJ. Is this dust on your window sill? Tell me AJ, how much food can you fit in a half-size refridgerator? Single soldiers don't need BOSS to plan trips for us that nobody likes, we just want equality. Get rid of the barracks and the chowhall? Gladly. Look, the points have been made. Single soldiers get screwed and we all do the same work. Something needs to be done yet nothing will change. Being single in the military is extremely depressing.

As a single soldier living in the barracks it is extremely frustrating and demoralizing. Because I live in the barracks with trouble makers who are frequently receiving UCMJ punishment my personal hygiene time is shorted by 30minutes. Now I have 1 hour to go from PT to the chowhall and wait in long lines just to take my food to-go because I'm in PT uniform, pray that I can beat my roommate to the shower 1st, eat my breakfast, change into uniform and be in barracks formation at 08:30 to clean up the barracks because of the sloppy soldiers I'm forced to live with trash the barracks. Everyday when I come 'home' to my 90 square feet side of the room I'm forced to listen to loud music, drunken people starting fights and coming into my room bringing drama and putting unwanted stress on myself worrying if staff duty, or worse, the MP's will be called because of their disorderly conduct. Not the mention the constantly broke Air Conditioning leaving my room at a cool 85 degrees or higher from 3 days to sometimes 1 month at a time. There is no break for me coming from work to 'home'. I can look from my front door (literally) and view my battalion and company area. Some days because of early Sergeants Time Training I can not even make it to the chow hall because of the hours they are open. I only wish I could express my disappointment with my chain of command and NCO support channel to not even make an attempt to better our situation. I've never lived at this low of a standard. Although I do acknowledge that there are people in the world, as well as in the USA, that live in worse living conditions, I would never expect anyone who works as hard at a job that is the #1 most honorable job (According to a People magazine's national survey). I never though I'd lived anywhere that I would be embarassed to bring a date 'home' to.

Guys and Gals. You'll look back on all of this ten years from now and have the greatest stories to tell your kids and friends. You'll make the kind of friends that you'd never have outside in the civilian world. Of course everything is done for a reason. Unforunately it doesn't make sense that the policy changes to benefit just a few good people with good reasons. I am sorry that you get caught up in policies that make life uncomfortable; however, it's for the better good.
Imagine all of the guys you talk about that get UCMJ acton if they didn't live in the barracks.
It's what you make of it. You're in the army now. It's a lot easier on you than it was on me and my buddies way back when I was enlisted.

What employer pays more to people that have kids or wives or dogs? Maybe I don't have kids because I want to enjoy my money because I worked for it and I am young! So because I want more free spending and time and a lot less stress, I have made good decisions besides joining the Army, I get paid less? Hmm. Can anyone say discrimination. How about I want my own financial life and want to wait to marry someone who I really trust with my future. I just want to date for now. Well, cant bring her home, thats for sure! Why? Well the Army wont let barracks soldiers bring anyone from the opposite sex into your room. Then they are going to start on gays(go figure, right. You cant even have a dual gendered relationship in your own place in the military) What a joke. Then, Iraq. Or any deployment for that matter, single soldiers miss out on family separations pay, and BAH. That is easily $1,000 per month. Just because they are not married. Half of the married soldiers have sham marriages for this reason. Resulting in many financial issues later, getting busted for BAH fraud, ect. Then the Army has the audacity to pay contractors $100,000 per year doing jack over in Iraq? This demonstrates that there is quite enough military funding to go around to pay unmarried soldiers who are risking their neck as much as the next married soldier and for sure much more than the overpaid fat contractors. Now if you cant see the dilemma in all of this you are blind. This inequality is one of the many reasons I just want out. Which that day is coming soon! Between the inequality issues, today's Army standards and overall BS who would want to stay? Oh, those guys they sucker in to re-up for $15k for six years! Another demonstration that there is plenty cash to go around.

The pay disparity is a relic left over from another era. Pay everyone a salary - with a COLA for certain high cost areas. Note to critics: Don't equate on base pig-swill on a platter and sub-welfare-grade apartments as the equivalent of TAX FREE BAS/BAH.

Not allowing single enlistees a chance to build equity in the American dream is disgusting. That's why I got out as an E-5 after four years in the infantry.

Also, the current system encourages some horrible enlisted marriages. Young soldiers see the money and perks and jump into marriages they are not ready for.

The system is so ethically vile that I'd find nothing wrong with any single career enlistee who 'gamed' the system with a convenience marriage. I'm certain there are a lot of such animals - especially in SF...

Bottom line: If you're a smart single enlistee thinking about a re-up, you'll make a better living driving a truck and working hard than staying in the service single.

the army is not about money. if you joined the army just so you can make paper then you need to re-evaluate priorities. i agree even as a married soldier that the financial needs of single soldiers needs to be re-evaluated but not to the extent of married soldiers. we have extra mouths to feed. and when we get back to the states we make just as much as single soldiers unless we are approved to live off post. it is my opinion that if one has a problem with soldiers families being able to live off post and the extra money that a soldier gets to make that happen then single soldiers need to address the families of married soldiers. if the army took away BAH that would be another disappointment for my wife and a hardship that i would have to put her through. the immediate families of married soldiers go through more than you can imagine. my wife has to be without me for a year. i will miss my childs birth. my child wont even no me when i walk through the door. i have an extra nouth to feed and its about to be three of us so excuse married soldiers when we have to disagree that single soldiers do the same job. yes single people are soldiers but im a husband and father and the least the army can do is help me take care my people while i put my life on the line.

back to single soldiers im not completely bashing the cause i do agree that you all dont make nearly enough but the higher ups dont care. i was once a single soldier and even on a good month i had to pinch pennies. so full hooah to more money for single soldier but separation pay (what are you separated from) and bah should not be awarded. i think that you all should stop attacking married personnel and start asking for more COLA. at the end of the do with all the BAH and FSH single soldier still have more spending and saving money. who would have thought a real soldier would complain about pay. sounds like someone did not ask enough questions in the recruitors office.

No matter what you say about needing to feed more mouthes etc. which by the way are NOT the responsability of anyone except you and your wife. It is discrimination to base pay on marriage status. I think we should all get paid more, but equally. We are all giving up a lot to serve our country and we should be rewarded for that.

In my opinion, all these single soldiers are right. If you were to go work for Apple, Sony or Microsoft and were married and then I came along and got hired with you and Im single guess what, we'd make pretty much the same money. They dont care that you have extra mouths to feed. Thats your responsibility. Not the corporations. Same thing should apply to the military. In the Marine Corps we would always tell the married Marine who complained about Barracks Duty, that the USMC didnt issue you a wife and kids. Have fun on post. And thats the truth. You werent ISSUED the marriage and the kids. Things need to change and be equal across the board married or not. That was one of the reasons I left the Marines.

I see both sides of the story, but more or less if you are married you really shouldn't be complaining. Us single soldiers are living in Barracks that are no bigger than 10ft by 10ft in size. We also share the small room and the bathrooms as well. Also if you want to say that we can eat at the chow hall three times a day. Well than I don't know when the last time you ate at the chow hall was. Technically your family can eat there so lets just see how much they like that. I believe we should use the barracks for soldiers but NCOs should not be staying in them. If you are an NCO living in the barracks you are never off work, you are constantly watching what is going on people are knocking on your door with issues instead of calling their NCOs. Soldiers and NCOs should not be living in the same building struckters at all. BAH and BAS is not extra pay but everyone should be entitled to it maybe E-4 and below should not be entitled to BAH. But no one should be forced to eat at a chow hall 7 days a week. When we are deployed we eat enough shit food. Seperation pay is crap, by a married soldier getting seperation pay on deployment, the military is telling me that my family back home does not matter. I love my family back home just as much as you love your wife, husband or kids. If one person get seperation pay everyone should get it. And if you are married and have kids and you want to complain that BAH is not enough you are full of crap and maybe you should have thought of that before you had so many. BAH, BAS, and Seperation pay is the reason there are so many soldiers have lunch time wedding (Going to the court house and getting married during lunch)if you didn't know what a lunch time wedding. It is also the reason so many soldiers are paying for child support. They get themselves into these realationships because all they are thinking about is the extra money. The Military really needs to think more about there single soldiers not just the married and ones who have children. We are all fighting the same war and wearing the same uniform.

I am single and living on post in shit hole barracks. I am 23 years old, lived on my own and paid for college, on my second tour in iraq, and was in the army reseve for 5 years before coming onto active duty. I . I have a fiance back in my home state as well as a daughter. I now live in a 10 x 10 room with a smelly ass room mate. Tell me why I am not alowed to get BAH for my child? Tell me why I have to live in the barrecks when I want to get custody of my child. When I need sutible housing to do this. Do I not give up seeing my daughter when I deploy, my fiance. You talk about all the mouths to feed when you leave and how hard it is for you being married. I get $180 a month for div pay. You get almost $1000. You cant even just consider the amount of hard cash you are getting for being married. You are also getting free medical care. Top notch scholing and also you and your family are entitled to eat at the chow hall as mutch as you like.

Maye when married people are deployed we should put them at the same level as people who are not married. Maybe give them div. I mean they are esentually living to the same standard as I am. Away from their family, eating at chow halls, and getting free housing for their deployment. Sounds good to me. No matter how manny kids I have to suport I still get the same pay. I really do think that the army needs to close the pay gap between married and unmarried personell and also relise that just because you a lower ranking individuall dosnt mean you are a hoodlem who is going to be destroying the town at night. I believe that the BAH should be givin out on a case by case basis and that just because the barrecks are not at 95% dosnt mean singles should stay on base. Every mrried person on here should also relize that yes you are married you do deserve to live off post, but you have two incomes not or at least you should have.

After reading these comments and viewing both sides of this debate I realized it is one I have often had with others in my unit now. Single individuals authorized to live off post should be paid the same as married individuals living off post. Period.. As has been stated before no one made you get married and have kids and just because you do doesn't mean you should be paid more coorporate america won't pay you more and neither should the military. However I don't believe everyone should live off post either. The barracks do serve a purpose and once I lived there to. I also believe single soldiers pay should be the same as married soldiers while deployed just because I am not married does not mean I don't have loved ones that will miss me. I also agree that barracks living standards should be raised consider this the airforce pays their airmen extra money to live in army barracks because it is considered substandard living! Raise any alarms. The standard should be the same across the board. I don't think they should cut anyones pay I simply think they should cut the gap and give single soldiers the benefits of those married. Not every single soldier lives in the barracks and eats at the chow hall for those who seem to think that is the case look again. And yes there is more to serving your country than money but money is what keeps the world going round how long would you continue to "serve your country" if your pay check stopped!

As a single service member I certainly take issue with the seperation pay that married members receive. As a single homeowner, I am forced to spend extra money when I deploy for someone to look after my house, cut the yard, take care of my dogs, etc. All things I would do, or my spouse if I had one. Yet, married soldier are paid extra to help offset these sorts of expenses when they are away from home since they are typically things they would take care of by the absent service member. Even though we are single, we also incur extra financial burdens but we are not compensated since we are not "married". Sound a little unfair? It is.

I have been on both sides, married and single since I have been in the army. I agree that single soldiers should get paid the same amount as married soldiers. I agree that the barracks are substandard, even the new style barracks are much too small, and I agree with the soldiers on here who state that you are always at work when you live in the barracks. I don't know how many times that the 1SG has made me round up soldiers for a "hey you" detail when I have been on CQ. This is not fair, the single soldiers deserve their time away from work too. I live off post, and was informed that as soon as my divorce is final, I lost my BAH and have to move to the barracks. I have another year on my lease that I will have to buy out of and dogs that I will have to give up unless I want to pay out of pocket to stay off post. Which I will do, because I am not going to stay in a substandard room listening to people fight and party all night, and not have any privacy because I have my soldiers knocking on my door all night. This also why I am getting out, I am sick of being treated like a child when I am an NCO and adult. The army has nothing left to offer me.

Hotep everyone,

I sort of agree with some and disagree with others. I think the point is well taken, we fight together, we die together, and we should be treated equally as well, it just that simple. The military too often afraid to get rid of old habits because some 1SG wants to be able to boss someone just because it was done to him.

This is a retention issue as well for the military. No wonder why the retention rate for young enlisted is very high. Not everyone likes to be told when to eat, drink, and go to bed. The barracks is an old idea that the military needs to get rid off long ago. while we buying planes that costs billion we can invest in better house and equal treatment for our young service members.

Thanks

2LT Jesse

Equal pay, benefits, entitlements, compensation (whatever you call it) for equal work PERIOD. 16 years in the Army and counting, single w/o dependents (Getting married Aug 30 by the way WOOOHOOO) The "policy makers" and those in a position to change this likely never wore the uniform a day in there life. Those in a position to brief or push the policy makers on this issue are not effected, and are unlikely to "ruffle feathers". Those effected, I encourage you to continue the fight, write your congressman, chain of command, IG etc... This will never be 100% equal until enough Soldiers "ruffle feathers". Do not take a dime away from Married Soldiers or those with dependents, but stop the DISCRIMINATION. There is not another business or government organization that would legally get away with discriminating against single employees, and it baffles me to this day that the Department of Defense has been able to for decades. The initial cost will be worth it in the long run and it is plainly the right thing to do. Retention, morale, readiness...HELLO DoD is anybody listening??? MSG Brian Allen

Shame on senior leadership (both at DoD level and each branch of service) for ignoring this issue and/or not doing enough to address it. check out unmarriedamerica.org/single-soldier

Looks like this is really gathering momentum, finally people are wising up to this form discrimination. Equal Pay for Equal Labor!!!

Where does it say that if you are single you have to live on base??.. thats your choice. As far as i know .. if you are on a long term set of orders 31 days or more reguardless of your marital status you are ENTILTLED TO BAH type I. Provided you give the required documents. the only exclusion to this is if you are living in barracks. other wise you can qualify.

Ummm...CA...everywhere I have ever been in 16 years of service, my single soldiers in the rank of E6 (sometimes E5 or E4) and below DID NOT have a choice, and if there was space in the barracks that is where they lived. They could request an exception in hopes of living off-post and being authorized BAH at the w/o dependent rate...but back in my younger days I was never successful, and as a senior NCO I have only been successful one time helping a Soldier (special circumstances) allowed to live off-post and receive BAH.

You might be referring to Reservists called to active duty... but Active Component, assigned to a military installation do not get the choice.

ok , your right im with the california national guard. I did not know the rules where differnt for those who are active duty as a opposed to m-day status.

You people are not understanding this. It's not that unmarried soldiers are being paid "less" They just don't get extra money to help support a family. The soldiers with families have more people living off of that paycheck! doen't it make sence to help these soldiers? A single soldier does not have the need for that bump in pay like a soldier with a family. And if that soldier get's divorced he looses that extra pay.

I am a CW3 who has spent the last tour in Korea and am currently in Honduras. Someone who is the same rank as me, but married, gets the same living quarters that I receive. However, they also get their full BAH. Depending on where they are coming here from, it could be anywhere from $1000, to $2500 a month. While they are here, they are building up equity in a home that the Army makes the payment on. If I want to own a home, I have to pull out of my own pocket to pay for it. I am not saying that the soldier with dependents should get less. I am saying that I should receive the same pay and benefits for the work I do. Based on AR 250-10, myself and the majority of soldiers in Honduras the rank of E-5 and above, don't have quarters that meet the minimum standards of acceptable space and privacy(table 4-2). If you choose to have a family, that is great. I hope to have one of my own someday. It doesn't mean that a soldier who makes the same sacrafices and does the same job should be compensated less. This would never be accepted in the civilian world. We need to bring our Army standards up to date!