The low wages paid to the grunts that take the hot lead has always bothered my conscience, now that you mention it. Tax the "rich" to raise their pay - substantially. There I said it. I have never minded writing checks to the IRS, hard as that may be to believe.
I can't say I don't mind writing checks to the IRS but even though I certainly don't mind writing checks to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund each year since the war started, it bothers me that these men and women and/or their survivors have to depend on volunteers.
Let me make you feel a little better. Soldiers in war zones do not pay taxes. When they reenlist for bonuses, they are not taxed.
The re-enlistment bonuses range from as little as $1,000 to as much as $150,000, depending on the type of job and length of re-enlistment http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/003186.html
I have a cousin in Tal Afar and she expects to have saved more than $ 25 grand in the year she's there. And she's a very junior enlisted with unremarkable "psy-op" skills.
I am glad you recognize their sacrifice, but we are doing our part of keeping up their morale. They certainly earn it. Rather than pity their low wages, let us gape in admiration for their dedication and professionalism. Let us appropriately condemn those who call them losers (John Kerry and Charlie Rangel) and back them in their mission.
Relative to what it was in the early '70s, and adjusted for inflation, it's not so bad now. Compared to other what similar demographics make in the civilian world, it's low, but not all that low. I'm surrounded by soldiers, some pretty young, with a kid or two each and they live in as big or bigger houses than mine, which is the smallest model that the builder built in this area. Nothing fancy, but nice and not too small. All less than 3 years old too.
Still you can never pay someone too much to get shot at, or have people trying to blow them up.