I suspect one problem the military has is that its superficial popularity sharply limits actual accountability. For instance, Congress is happy to continuously approve pay raises for all the troops. While this looks like motherhood and apple pie from the outside, is rewarding the incompetent and competents alike a serious personnel policy? Unfortunately, it seems that everything the US government does has been turned into a public relations exercise.
It doesn't seem like either civilians or the military are getting much of a pay raise, especially when one considers the inexorable inflationary rise of prices.
ah but you must consider that most military based in the US receive "BAH" which can easily double their total pay, tax free. For example, an E-5 with a high school diploma in Maryland can get $2k per month tax-free:
http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm
