I was a 2nd Lt from 76 to 78 and although I made a little more (prior enlisted over 4) it was enough to be comfortable with a wife and new child. The other 2Lts in my squadron were also comfortable, not rich, but comfortable. $42K today is at best middle-class.
Would you have wanted to take a pay cut back then? Would that have made up for all of the training time and long hours? I was putting in 70 hrs a week on the average during that time and the redeeming aspect of it all was that my family was safe and not on food stamps.
Anyone out there who thinks that cutting the pay of the Marines or any of the services is acceptable and will be welcomed is full of crap. You don’t get full faith and allegiance for next to nothing and ignoring the fact that the cost of just living is being pushed out of reach by this National Socialist Democrat dictator. This is not WWII and even then at $50 a month, it was as much as many were making a month before being drafted.
Like you, I was putting in at least 70 hours a week, more if you include Staff Duty Officer once or twice during the week, and every other weekend.
And who could forget those alerts? Being in an Army unit on an AF Base offered so many wonderful opportunities! On the Army side, we had Group, 32nd AADCOM, and USAREUR alerts, while on the AF side we participated in the USAFE and NATO alerts. Cut my pay? Oh hell yes! I had so much free time on my hands! When I got to Germany, I was 30 days in the hole on annual leave. Three years later, I was 58 days to the good.
I loved my time in Germany, and the Army, but any notion of a pay CUT is the fastest way I know to destroy morale.
Thanks for your service, too.