Costs Continue To Rise To Maintain A Service Member On Active Duty

U.S. Marines disembark a Royal New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 after arriving at Honolulu International Airport to participate in a Rim of the Pacific exercise in Honolulu, Hawaii, July 6, 2012. Twenty-two nations, with more than 25,000 personnel, are participating in the RIMPAC exercise from June 29 to Aug. 3, 2012. New Zealand Defence Force photo by LAC Amanda McErlich

Active-Duty Personnel Costs Projected To Spike -- Military Times

The Defense Department’s average costs to maintain a service member on active duty has jumped 50 percent since 2001, to $158,000 per year, with even faster growth predicted in the future, according to a Congressional Budget Office report that looks at long-range implications of the pending 2013 defense budget.

Personnel costs have been climbing at a rate of about $4,000 per person per year since 2001, according to the report released Wednesday by the nonpartisan budget office but are expected to rise by an average of $4,700 a year over the next several years, despite Defense Department efforts to hold down costs.

By 2017, CBO forecasts costs will be $170,000 per person, and by 2030, $215,000 per person.

Read more ....

My Comment: The number one reason for this increase .... health care.