How much money can an infantry soldier (Pvt.) make in Iraq?

[Gun Runner]

Greetings Folks,

My recruiter gave me a sheet showing how much money I can make in the Army.  A little under $1,200/month.  Pathetic.  Assuming I joined and was sent to Iraq, which I don't think is a far-fetched assumption at all, how much would I make per week there?  Overseas and combat pay on top of my base pay.

[Jamisjockey]

I don't know, but....
Your overhead is very low as a young enlisted type.  You get housing, fed, and some uniform allowances.  So, you mostly have to pay for personal care (hygiene, haircuts), and transportation.
My advice to anyone joining the military:  Live in your barracks.  Buy a bicycle.  Put away $300 or more a month off the top into a Mutual fund or at a minimum an ING savings account.  When you have enough money saved, buy a car outright.  Do not get an AAFES credit card.  Get one credit card for  $500 or less, and buy yourself dinner on it once a month, and then pay that off.  Take advantage of the free movies on base, base transportation into town, and any other free or cheap activities you can do.  Until you're around an E4, you're just going to be broke.
If you get deployed, save any differentials right off the top.  Put that away somewhere deep, like a Mutual fund.  
DO NOT INVEST IN SAVINGS BONDS.  They will pressure you to do so.  Its a ripoff.  You don't make squat on them.  Instead, setup a Mutual fund that will allow you to invest via allotment.  
If TSP is available to you, invest at least the matching amount (TSP is the federal 401K), which I think is 5%.  Go agressive, which is the S and I funds.  If you take out a loan against it, I will hunt you down and give you a swift kick in the nuts.

I made alot of these mistakes when I was young, and left the Marines after 5 years with almost $30,000 in debt.  It took me 4 years and a job at over $100k a year to pay that off finally.

Are you locked into the Army?  Check the other services out!  See what jobs you can get, especially any that involve enlistment bonuses!!!!!
Good luck,

[Antibubba]

There's a huge demand for full-auto AKs and RPG-7s here in the States.  Once you can work the paperwork and figure out which officials to bribe, you'll be on your way to a lucrative side career.  

[Perd Hapley]

I never hurt for money as a single private and specialist, even though I payed 1200 dollars the first year for the GI Bill, and had 50 dollars deducted every month for savings bonds.  I had a used car that was payed for, with liability insurance.  I ate out frequently.  Then again, I was not used to having money anyway.  And, I never spent any money on women, much as I would have liked to.  Pathetic, I know.  I brought back a few thousand from Bosnia, and immediately payed off the two thousand I owed in college loans.  That was when it started.  I bought two seven-hundred dollar guns, and have been part of the evil gun culture ever since.  Also, I bought at least a hundred music CDs.  

One makes much more money when overseas, but more significant, really, is that one tends to save money in places like Bosnia or Iraq, depending on where one is.  Not too much to spend it on out there.  One guy in Bosnia did end up two thousand dollars in debt, though.  Capaccinos and dart games at the on-base coffee-house; video games and movie rentals from the little PX.

I also saw a LOT of young soldiers bury themselves in debt, Stateside, which I think mainly had to do with them driving cars that were way out of their league.  Oh, and the wine, women and song.  And the drugs.  And the video game systems and cable TV in the barracks, which I never was foolish enough to pay for.

Really, you don't do it for the money.

[Gun Runner]

I was gonna do it for the money.  It's a job.  

The way it looks somedays it's either McDonald's, Burger King, or the Military.

[Jamisjockey]

Then you absolutely have to consider what you're going to get out of it.  Check each branch.  Take your ASVAB and find out what jobs you're eligible for.  See if there is an Enlistment bonus, and what college benefits you're going to be eligible for.  
Remember, the Military is a way of life.  They own you 24/7.  The pay is low, but your exterior benefits raise that some (housing, food, medical), where at Mickey Dicks you've gotta pay for that stuff yourself.  
Yes, you do get differentials for overseas duty.  
You should just join the military.  You're not going to get anywhere at MickeyDickheads.  You're going to become a better disciplined, and possibly well trained in a trade in the Military.  You're going to learn self respect, which you don't get serving fries at some fast food crphole.

[Perd Hapley]

The way it looks somedays it's either McDonald's, Burger King, or the Military.

Wait a minute there, son.  If you think this is like working nine to five as a burger flipper, you need to re-evaluate.  I see that you are looking into the infantry, so I guess you're not concerned about learning job skills for the civilian world.  Not that there aren't police departments, security companies, etc., that might like that kind of experience.  This in itself is a big difference from working for King Burger.  Working at McDonald's means nothing on a job application, but having military service can put you at the top of the list for some places.  Home Depot has a policy of formally prefferring military types, or so I hear.  And there are a million civilian government jobs on posts around the world.

I was infantry too (First Cav), and I didn't like the military all that much.  Even so, I never regretted my time in active duty.  You will have experiences that you will value your whole life.  You will probably be a better person for it.  If nothing else, you will grow up a little (I'm assuming you are late teens, early twenties).  You will be part of a dreadfully important group of people on whom our very survival rests.  Especially since 9/11, civilians will see you as a hero.  They will thank you for your service, and buy you stuff.  Don't expect this near your post, of course, where everyone is military.  But you will encounter this when on leave, or after you get out.  Especially if you go overseas, this will be an adventurous time of your life.  Which is to say it will be difficult and scary.