# What do our soldiers do? And how much do they make?



## McG (2 Mar 2001)

What do our soldiers do?
And how much do they make? 
Martin O‘Malley, Amina Ali and Owen Wood
CBC News Online, March 2001 

On the first day of March, Defence Minister Art Eggleton announced pay raises for the Canadian military, thanks to a cash infusion of $595.4 million. After tabling the package in the House of Commons, Eggleton said 40 per cent of the new money will go to "quality of life" measures. 

A good chunk of the new $595.4 million â€“ which is extra to the base defence budget of $11 billion â€“ will also go to new equipment. 
About time, our military men and women say, after troubling reports some of them have been reduced to visiting food banks and delivering pizzas to feed themselves and their families. 

Five years ago, a new recruit made only $14,400 a year, which isn‘t much more than a kid makes flipping burgers. By 2000, this had been improved, so that a private in the army â€“ the lowest rank â€“ earned between $23,616 and $34,692 a year. 

Annual Salary in the Canadian Army, 2000 				
	Rank	Annual Salary
                            Minimum	Maximum	
 	Private	   $23,616	$34,692	
 	Corporal	   $39,684	$41,964	
 	Sergeant	   $45,588	$47,448	
 	Lieutenant $39,456	$51,012	
 	Captain	   $53,712	$71,004	
 	Major	   $72,636	$81,456	
 	Lt-colonel  $84,192	$89,592	
Source: The Department of National Defence.

Up the ladder, a lieutenant made between $39,456 and $51,012, a lieutenant- colonel between $84,192 and $89,592. The salaries for the top jobs, generals and admirals, aren‘t as easy to pinpoint, as they are negotiated with the federal cabinet. 

The pay raises were good news for Canada‘s armed forces, after years of pay freezes, junked equipment and sagging morale. The armed forces are embarking on an enthusiastic recruiting drive this year, hoping to entice 10,000 more men and women into uniform. They are even looking for a snappy new slogan, something to replace the old and now-discarded, "There‘s no life like it." 

Canada is not alone in having difficulty attracting recruits to the military. The United States, Britain, France and Italy all have been struggling to attract recruits, a reflection of different expectations among young people in today‘s high-tech, quick-money world and the change from conscription to volunteer military forces. 

"We used to join the forces to be Billy Bishop," Col. Gordon Grant, who heads Canada‘s new recruitment effort, told The Globe and Mail in January. "Today, kids dream of being Bill Gates." 

Canada wants to attract more women and ethnic minorities into the Armed Forces. As it is, women make up only 15 per cent of the Canadian Forces, and visible minorities make up only two per cent. Grant says the Canadian Forces have a decent pension plan, which offers 40 per cent of a soldier‘s salary after 20 years‘ service. New soldiers also start off with four weeks vacation. 

The current level of employment in the armed forces amounts to 60,000 regulars and 30,000 reserves. In the early 1990s, there were 90,000 regulars, but attrition and budget-cuts reduced that number to 60,000. Members of the Canadian Forces serve as peacekeepers in far-flung parts of the world, and pitch in at home for ice storms and floods (or when Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman needs help after an overnight snowfall). 

Canada has a solid reputation in the world as a source of reliable and experienced peacekeepers, but in recent years the assignments we have taken on have stretched our military resources nearly to the limit. Between 1948 and 1989, Canadian Forces were involved in 25 peacekeeping operations. Since 1989 â€“ a period of only 12 years â€“ Canadian Forces have been involved in 65 peacekeeping operations. 

There has been criticism that Canada does not spend enough on defence, compared with other NATO members. The last figures for Canada showed we spent 1.1 per cent of our gross domestic product on defence, while the average expenditure of NATO‘s 19 members is 2.1 per cent of GDP. 

A CBC report in February said Canada is preparing to reduce its 505 planes and helicopters to 280. This would entail reducing Canada‘s CF-18 fighters to 80 from 125, The same report said the air force also plans to reduce flights over Canada‘s Arctic to less than 40 hours a year from 500 hours. The reduction in planes and helicopters that patrol our coasts means we will not be nearly as effective in detecting smugglers and polluters. 
This suggested cutback in what are called "sovereignty flights" provoked an outcry from those who believe it would be a threat to national security, perhaps the white flag of concession and a signal that we do not have the resources to keep watch over our own country. 

"The first job of any government is to exercise an unambiguous control over national territory and maritime patrol," says David Rudd of Canada‘s Centre for Strategic Studies. "Sovereignty flights in the Canadian North are perhaps the most visible aspect of that. When you cut back on that, basically you‘re saying that Canada cannot afford its Arctic and we cannot afford our maritime spaces."

(Sorry about the editing all.  The pay table did not paste properly.  McG)


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## the patriot (2 Mar 2001)

It‘s beginning to sound like some of the troops would rather take a pay cut now to maintain the current level of operational activity in all elements of the Canadian Forces. Well if it gets so bad, the brass could always call Greenpeace and have them do a fundraising drive to pay for naval patrols in the Arctic to keep American nuclear Trident submarines out of our waters.

-the patriot-


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## Brad Sallows (6 Mar 2001)

Bear in mind historically the private‘s salary was accessible to an unskilled grade 10 graduate.  How does it compare now to the salary expectations of an unskilled grade 12 graduate?  Anyone starting a family in the first three or four years out of high school is most likely going to be in difficult financial circumstances.

I notice the low end of the corporal‘s salary is in the ballpark for a university or technical diploma graduate.

Perhaps one recruiting attraction problem (namely, competing with better prospects elsewhere) could be resolved by including access to technical and academic education for all soldiers, either during or following service.


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## Drummy (6 Mar 2001)

I was looking at the original post with interest because of the pay scales listed. I really got a chuckle, because just today I was cleaning out old release records and came across some pay documents of mine. I joined the Reg Force (031) in 1956 at $98.00 per month($1176 per annum) and got out (Sgt-871) in 1984 making $2247 per month($26,964 per annum). Just a little change don‘t you think.

Drummy


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