MILITARY BAS RATES
PAY & ENTITLEMENTS HOME * BASE PAY * BAH * BAS
BAS is meant to offset costs for a member's meals. This allowance is based in the historic origins of the military in which the military provided room and board (or rations) as part of a member's pay. This allowance is not intended to offset the costs of meals for family members.
Beginning on January 1 2002, all enlisted members get full BAS, but pay for their meals (including those provided by the government). This is the culmination of the BAS Reform transition period.
Because BAS is intended to provide meals for the service member, its level is linked to the price of food. Therefore, each year it is adjusted based upon the increase of the price of food as measured by the USDA food cost index. This is why the increase to BAS will not necessarily be the same percentage as that applied to the increase in the pay table, as annual pay raises are linked to the increase of private sector wages.
2010 Military BAS Rates:
Enlisted: $323.87 a month
Officers: $223.04 a month
*Note: A Discount Meal Rate (DMR) offset of minus $8.35 a day applies to all Coast Guard enlisted members assigned to a ship with messing facilities, a Class “A” School, OCS (prior service), a deployed Port Security Unit, and enlisted members E-6 and below stationed ashore who reside in government-owned quarters and are required to eat meals at a government dining facility.
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