Pay & benefits · 2026
Basic pay follows grade and years of service, not job title. Allowances depend on your circumstances; special and incentive pays require qualifying duties. These career scenarios are comparisons, not individual pay quotes.
Illustrative annual totals include basic pay, BAS, regular 2026 housing allowance and only the specialty-duty assumptions itemized below. Rank progression and qualifying duty are estimates, not typical promotion guarantees. Bonuses and situational pays are excluded. National Guard scenarios assume full-time active duty, not drill pay.
Housing uses Fort Hood, TX (Military Housing Area TX286), without dependents, annualized over twelve months. Actual housing entitlement varies by assignment, location, dependency status, grade and rate protection. Members with dependents may receive different rates. The “over N years” DFAS column is not the rate on the Nth anniversary itself.
Regular 2026 locality BAH for TX286, without dependents. Annualized at twelve months for a comparison scenario; actual entitlement depends on assignment, eligibility, grade and rate protection. Numeric cells agree across two independent reproductions but could not be checked directly against the linked DTMO ZIP. DTMO annual rate archive
Housing allowance shown is the without-dependents rate for Fort Hood, TX (Military Housing Area TX286). Members with dependents receive more, and rates vary substantially by duty station.
Total $66,113.4* / year
May also apply while deployed or on certain assignments (not included in total): Hostile Fire / Imminent Danger Pay Hostile fire $225/qualifying month; imminent danger $7.50/qualifying day (up to $225/month) (source); Hardship Duty Pay $50, $100, or $150/month for designated hardship locations; mission hardship $150/month (source); Assignment Incentive Pay Varies by approved assignment; no universal published rate (source); Family Separation Allowance $300/qualifying month of involuntary separation from dependents (source)
Regular 2026 locality BAH for TX286, without dependents. Annualized at twelve months for a comparison scenario; actual entitlement depends on assignment, eligibility, grade and rate protection. Numeric cells agree across two independent reproductions but could not be checked directly against the linked DTMO ZIP. DTMO annual rate archive
Housing allowance shown is the without-dependents rate for Fort Hood, TX (Military Housing Area TX286). Members with dependents receive more, and rates vary substantially by duty station.
Total $82,349.4* / year
May also apply while deployed or on certain assignments (not included in total): Hostile Fire / Imminent Danger Pay Hostile fire $225/qualifying month; imminent danger $7.50/qualifying day (up to $225/month) (source); Hardship Duty Pay $50, $100, or $150/month for designated hardship locations; mission hardship $150/month (source); Assignment Incentive Pay Varies by approved assignment; no universal published rate (source); Family Separation Allowance $300/qualifying month of involuntary separation from dependents (source)
Regular 2026 locality BAH for TX286, without dependents. Annualized at twelve months for a comparison scenario; actual entitlement depends on assignment, eligibility, grade and rate protection. Numeric cells agree across two independent reproductions but could not be checked directly against the linked DTMO ZIP. DTMO annual rate archive
Housing allowance shown is the without-dependents rate for Fort Hood, TX (Military Housing Area TX286). Members with dependents receive more, and rates vary substantially by duty station.
Total $100,687.8* / year
May also apply while deployed or on certain assignments (not included in total): Hostile Fire / Imminent Danger Pay Hostile fire $225/qualifying month; imminent danger $7.50/qualifying day (up to $225/month) (source); Hardship Duty Pay $50, $100, or $150/month for designated hardship locations; mission hardship $150/month (source); Assignment Incentive Pay Varies by approved assignment; no universal published rate (source); Family Separation Allowance $300/qualifying month of involuntary separation from dependents (source)
The following situational pays are outside milestone totals. Eligibility, orders, duty and payable days matter; do not assume concurrent entitlement.
(1) Deployment and assignment pays are not included above: location/mission hardship, hostile fire/imminent danger, and family separation have full-month rates of $50–$450 where eligible (some payments are prorated); assignment incentive pay varies by approved assignment. (source; October 1, 2026 rate memorandum)
This retained note references later rates than some underlying scenario data. Both are preserved for review, not reconciled into a new entitlement or added to totals.
Every monthly base-pay cell currently stored by this application is shown below. This is a sourced subset, not the complete DFAS grade/service-year matrix. Read the full official DFAS tables.
| Grade | DFAS service column | Monthly | Annualized |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 | over 4 months | $2,407.2 | $28,886.4 |
| E-5 | over 6 years | $4,110 | $49,320 |
| O-1 | under 2 years | $4,150.2 | $49,802.4 |
| O-3 | over 6 years | $7,737 | $92,844 |
| E-4 | over 4 years | $3,658.5 | $43,902 |
| E-6 | over 10 years | $4,759.5 | $57,114 |
| E-7 | over 20 years | $6,245.7 | $74,948.4 |
| O-2 | over 4 years | $6,484.5 | $77,814 |
| O-4 | over 10 years | $9,420 | $113,040 |
| O-5 | over 20 years | $12,032.7 | $144,392.4 |
| W-2 | over 4 years | $5,286 | $63,432 |
| W-3 | over 10 years | $6,910.5 | $82,926 |
| W-4 | over 20 years | $9,228.9 | $110,746.8 |
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Confirmed in DA PAM 611-21 Smartbook, November 2025, historical end-of-FY2025 snapshot (https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/2025/12/04/7573670f/chapter-10-enlisted-base-chapter.pdf). The Army maintains a newer restricted version; it was not sought or accessed. Checked 2026-09-27. Confirmation means documented appearance, not present-day accession availability.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Army G-1 DA Pam 611-21, chapter 10C: enlisted MOS specifications (historical public consolidation, December 2025) · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Advertised — Army, as of 2026-09-28Deployment likelihood: Higher*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Illustrative career comparisons, not an offer or guarantee of pay. Read the disclaimer.