http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0126pay26.html

Most reservists make more on duty than off

Lolita C. Baldor Associated Press Jan. 26, 2006 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON - Most military reservists who left their civilian jobs to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan made more money there than in their regular jobs, according to a study that contradicts the notion that citizen soldiers lose money when they go to war.

Rand's National Defense Research Institute found that 72 percent of the troops surveyed made more while on war duty in 2002 or 2003 than they did in their civilian jobs in 2001. More than half made at least $10,000 more.

On average, the reservists made $850 more per month while on duty than in their civilian jobs, the report found.

It went on to say, however, that 28 percent of the reservists lost money.

Higher salaries, combat pay supplements, family separation allowances and tax-free earnings all have combined to boost troops' pay. But Rand senior economist Jacob Alex Klerman said researchers are still working to understand why this study differs so dramatically from reports about families struggling to get by when a primary wage-earner went to war.

Klerman said the study uses earnings data supplied by the Social Security Administration and therefore is likely to be more accurate than earlier surveys, which often relied on information volunteered by soldiers.