> Anecdotally, in one department within the DoD, it's ~90%, which sounds insane.

If you consider how little uniformed military personnel are paid and how high the other costs associated with them are to start with, I'm actually not all that surprised that somewhere in some specialized area in the DoD this ratio is reached.

This was interesting when I was in. I was making $25k a year as a corporal, but I was saving almost all of it because I wasn't paying for rent, utilities, health insurance, food, or the gym. My expenses were Internet, cell phone, and car insurance / gas. That was it.

I make three times as much in the civilian world, but I'm saving less.

They also probably don't include BAH and BAS as salary since they are considered reimbursements. Just as you wouldn't include cost of barracks as part of your salary if you lived there. BAH and BAS are a very large part of compensation.