Am I the only person on here wondering why we are spending $333 Million on this mission when there are all kinds of things that could be bought that is needed?
Nope, although to be fair, $333,000,000.00 is chump change in comparison to the so-called "foreign aid" we hand out to third world dictators.
I can't find raw numbers on how many military personnel live in poverty. I'd be interested in seeing actual figures, but I suspect that it isn't all that many given the other benefits and allowances that many in the military receive.
IMO, it is going to be seriously difficult to come up with a real number there. An E-1 pulling down less than $14k/yr is (I think) below the arbitrary poverty line, but a solid roof overhead, clean sheets, 3 hot meals a day, and total medical coverage pretty much knocks you out of the running for "impoverished." Obviously deployment to a forward area changes that up to some degree, but you get the idea.
I'm not saying that soldiers have it real good or anything, and I fully support military pay raises, just wanted to put that bit in perspective.