The Basic Allowance for Subsistence will rise 11.2 percent effective January 1, ringing in the new year with big increases for ever service member. The new enlisted rate is $452.56 per month, while the rate for officers reaches $311.68. That’s the biggest year-over-year increase since 2002, when the Defense Department completed an overhaul of BAS rules.
Enlisted members will pocketabout $45 more each month, and officers will get an extra $31, marking the first time officers’ BAS exceeded $300.
BAS is adjusted annually to match the USDA food cost index. Food prices rose 10.9 percent from October 2021 to October 2022, and are projected to increase between 9.5 to 10.5 percent for the calendar year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent data.
Inflation in the year ahead remains a mystery. Officials had expected it to slow in 2023, with the Consumer Price Index closer to historic averages, but some industry officials are warning that high food inflation is unlikely to go away soon. Eggs, dairy products, poultry, and processed fruits and vegetables have seen the highest spikes.
Pentagon leaders have increasingly emphasized the need for higher pay and allowances for military personnel. The 2023 budget request included a 4.6 percent pay raise, the largest in two decades, and officials anticipate higher housing allowances, as well. The proposal also included a new “basic needs allowance” that would give extra cash to service members’ whose pay is less than 130 percent of the federal poverty guidelines of the Department of Health and Human Services. Congress has yet to finalize action on the 2023 budget and the Pentagon is currently operting on a continuing resolution, which expires Dec. 16. Congress must either approve a budget or another CR by that date.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall hammered home care for “people” in his address to Airmen and Guardians at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in September—noting among other things he was reversing planned cuts to special duty pays that had generated controversy because they came amid rising inflation. Likewise, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass said she was pushing for a “holistic military compensation review” to identify ways to more quickly respond to rising costs.
Basic Allowance for Subsistence Over Time
| YEAR | OFFICER | ENLISTED | PERCENTAGE CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $311.68 | $452.56 | 11.20 |
| 2022 | $280.29 | $406.98 | 5.30 |
| 2021 | $266.18 | $386.50 | 3.70 |
| 2020 | $256.68 | $372.71 | 0.90 |
| 2019 | $254.39 | $369.39 | 0.00 |
| 2018 | $254.39 | $369.39 | 0.30 |
| 2017 | $253.63 | $368.29 | 0.00 |
| 2016 | $253.63 | $368.29 | 0.10 |
| 2015 | $253.38 | $367.92 | 2.90 |
| 2014 | $246.24 | $357.55 | 1.50 |
| 2013 | $242.60 | $352.27 | 1.10 |
| 2012 | $239.96 | $348.44 | 7.20 |
| 2011 | $223.84 | $325.04 | 0.36 |
| 2010 | $223.04 | $323.87 | 0.00 |
| 2009 | $223.04 | $323.87 | 10.00 |
| 2008 | $202.76 | $294.43 | 5.20 |
| 2007 | $192.74 | $279.88 | 2.80 |
| 2006 | $187.49 | $272.26 | 1.90 |
| 2005 | $183.99 | $267.18 | 5.00 |
| 2004 | $175.23 | $254.46 | 4.80 |
| 2003 | $167.20 | $242.81 | 0.50 |
| 2002 | $166.37 | $241.60 |