Military High Command : Taking less but doing more

For some strange reasons, General Joseph Dunford, the US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, is paid half of what his British counterpart gets even though the size of his troops is ten times bigger

According to information published by the ministry of Defence, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach is on an annual salary of about £260,000 before tax.  On the other hand, General Joseph Dunford, the US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, is paid the dollar equivalent of about £135,000, as verified by his office in Washington.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach

More significantly, the US defence budget stands at about $639 billion (£451 billion) compared with UK defence spending of about £36 billion. Also, the US military has more than 1.3 million personnel compared with 150,000 in Britain, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which assess global military capabilities.

The disparity in the take-home pay between Air Chief Marshal Peach and General Dunford has caused an outcry among MPs at a time when pay increases across defence are capped at 1 per cent and training and travel for troops is being reduced to save money.