quad, I'd love to discuss this subject in more detail, but you should know that the military doesn't take very kindly to having inside information being made available for the public to discuss. I know for a fact that my online activity is periodically monitored and reviewed, so I have to assume that they read what I write on here as well and I have to carefully consider the details that I can approach and share. I live and work in the military, with officers and non-officers alike, all day every day. I have it on good authority that all the (minor) details I've talked about are true, and I have first hand experiences on a lot of the inner workings of the institutions, most of which are obscured from the general public, i.e. you. I can tell you that most of the things you've commented on (and which I were already aware of) are true
on paper, however in reality things are different from how you think they are. I'll quickly go through some of the things you mentioned without giving off too many details.
quad wroteBase salary is near the LBP 1M not LBP 1.5M. Yes, the "benefits" net to around LBP 500k, but that would get a "fresh grad" officer less than LBP 2M.
Medical services? We have insurance, no?
Gas stipends? We get that as well. And soldiers can get reassigned very far from their homes.
[...]
Except for a few, the thousands of officers are just undermined public servants, and their salaries are not that high.
And given that their job is to actually die protecting the country (that is sometimes even ungrateful), I think they're in fact underpaid.
And no overtime.
And they sleep at work at least %20 of their time.
And they get summoned at anytime.
A few things:
_ Base salary is exactly as Tech Guru said, 1,250,000 LBP, and that's from the
previous law. Now it's 1,500,000 LBP. Fresh officers are expected to make 2,000,000 LBP without problems.
_ Military medical insurance is completely different from what you get from the NSSF. For starters, they have their own medical centers and pharmacies in addition to their own dedicated hospital (the quality of service at the hospital can be... variable, to say the least. But that's another story for another time). They don't have to pay for anything ever, no upfronts, even in the case of emergencies (which is a huge problem with the NSSF, you need separate private insurance for that), and all medicines and drugs are provided 100% for free. And the insurance lasts a lifetime, even after retirement. With the NSSF, the second you stop working, you're on your own. Only very recently did retirees finally get their LONG-overdue health coverages.
_ Fuel money and fuel coupons are separate. Officers get fuel money without having to dedicate it for fuel, because they can use the coupons instead. With the NSSF the money is all you get.
_ More on transportation: captains and above get cars, license plates, and chauffeurs. Suffice to say, not all private companies are as generous.
_ While we're at it: educational aids are percentage-based rather than fixed sum like the NSSF. Figures have been variable across institutions, but 80% seems typical. Their children can go to any prestigious university and not leave them in financial ruin.
_ More: they get lower rates for mortgage loans: about 1.5% compared to the rate for civilians (around 3.5%, I don't know the exact current rate).
_ ناد الضباط .
And lots of other stuff. Money for housemaids, clothings, phone bills... You name it, they probably get paid for it.
None of them complain, and why should they? Every time they set foot on a plane as part of an overseas training program (which I assure you, are endless) they earn 8 million LBP. Every time they masquerade their subordinates' good work as their own, they earn hearty monetary commendations (the others get what you might call "frafit" and a thankful photocopied fax letter that is amusing as it is belittling). Every time they get a medal for distinction, their salary rises by up to $500. Do I think they're underpaid? No, they have their own ways of making money, so I wouldn't worry about them. Do I think their subordinates are underpaid?
Absolutely, even criminally I might add, and now more than ever.
quad wroteI don't think that's true, you make it sound like that lieutenant is living "the life" at LBP 8M as a fresh grad, whereas in reality, very few reach the general rank (and those doubtful LBP 8M) and stay that way before actually retiring. Otherwise, lemme apply, sounds like the golden career *wink-wink*.
You should note that officers get around LBP 50k per rank... Fifty... And it takes them 3-5 years per rank.
And the base salary of the Commander (Ka2id el jeish) is LBP 6M. And he's 2 ranks above general!
Lebanon has several hundred active generals at any time, and they all slowly retire to give way for the colonels. Sure, not all of them make it, but most do, especially if they've picked up some partisan interests along the way, which most do (which is ironic, because those are expressly forbidden
on paper, but no one cares, because all the important ones are known partisans anyway).
General officers, especially those in key positions of power, are extremely well-paid and privileged for very good reasons. They're tremendous and very precious political assets. Do you seriously think that the commander of the entire armed forces earns 6 million LBP? Do you know how much he makes from travels and medals alone? If you think 8 million LBP is "doubtful", then I don't know what you would think of the real amount. Admittedly, his position is unique and the lesser generals earn less than he does, but they're not all that far behind. Colonels are no joke either. And by the way, he's in fact 18 grades above brigadier general, not 2. As I've discussed, officers don't really depend on grades to make most of their money.
quad wroteFirst, you mean they can be enrolled as NCOs (Non Commissioned Officers,
https://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/en/ranks) which includes Warrant Officers, Adjutants, not just Sergeants.
Additionally, either you have a first hand experience in this or it's a bloated non-truth. There are incidents probably, but to overgeneralize that they will server like dogs is both outrageous and insulting to the Military Institution.
Not 100%, again a few details are missing so I'll explain things a bit more to let you understand why I specifically mentioned sergeants. First, I don't think I've ever come across a single training course dedicated for warrant officers مؤهلين . Either that process doesn't exist, or it's exceptionally rare. Second, it depends on the branch. The ISF for example (the second biggest branch) haven't had training courses for adjutants معاونين in decades, which is a huge deal considering the size of their force. In the army, adjutant training courses are more frequent but definitely not as common as those for soldiers and sergeants. In addition, the demand for adjutants is always lower than that for the lower ranks. Say you have a collective training course for 1,500 open positions for the ranks of soldier, sergeant, and adjutant, and 5,000 applicants. Typically, 1,000 of those positions would be allocated for soldiers, 300 for sergeants, and 200 for adjutants. The way allocations work is primarily based on educational levels. At minimum, soldiers require a brevet, sergeants require a technical baccalaureate, and adjutants require technical degrees (there are also specialized adjutants, but those are trained in separate courses and require more specific degrees).
Sounds simple enough? Well, it's not. Of those 5,000 applicants, you can expect 20% to hold some sort of university degree. That's 1,000 overqualified graduates who are going to compete with all the other applicants who hold the required degrees for the corresponding ranks, though preferably not the soldier rank. You can already see where this is going. The graduates, the baccalaureates, the technical degree holders, are all going to scramble for any wasta they have to try to ensure that they get the ranks that they applied to. The ratios won't favor the graduates anyway, so eventually a fraction of them will make it into sergeant, and even less into adjutant (if it's even available). Soldier is worst case scenario, and believe it or not, there are graduates who consider applying for that rank despite their degree, and they do so because they believe that they have a better chance of getting accepted, which is logical but also incredibly unfortunate and sad.
About the "serve like dogs" comment, it's true and it happens more often than you think. I've seen people from everywhere sent to jail for the stupidest of things. However, it's more common in some places and less common in others, and it has all to do with the commanding officers. The way people avoid it is by transferring to a unit or department where they have connections with higher-ups (usually distant relatives, or friends) who they know will be more lenient with them than some random sadistic/racist officer. And oh, no shortage of those either, and you can thank the military academy for implanting those amazing abusive pharaonic mindsets. You might think it's outrageous and what-have-you. I say it's a gross understatement, and I say it loud and clear: I have no sympathy for those types of officers whatsoever. None. And neither should anyone.
quad wroteAlso wrong: they can apply for Specialized Officers (max age is ~30 for Engineers). You can't seriously wait 10 years not finding a job and try to apply to the military.
Sure, they can
try. Eventually they'll come across the same problems as above, but here admissions are even more limited (typically 50 max per branch every few years) and even more prone to outside influence and manipulation, and that's because officer positions are much more important and valuable. Most importantly, it's the point where all the sectarian distribution rules and favoritism come out in full force. If someone happens to belong to a minority group (say Druzes or Greek Catholics) their chances for admission will depend on the institution's innate systemic discriminatory biases more so than their skills, which they still have to prove. I don't think I'll say anything more on this subject.
quad wroteI started as a fresh grad in our beloved country, and was making LBP 3M working for a respectable firm. You cannot expect everyone to make that much, but you surely can't consider most fresh grads to make less than LBP 2M!
With all due respect, I know nothing about your day job (maybe engineering?) but not everyone is as fortunate in this economy. I know my friends locally earned anywhere between $600 to $800 in the first jobs they got after graduating, working back-breaking hours. I came across a lot of people who went through the same experiences. Even on this forum you can read some of those stories. $2k for a first job in this country is extraordinarily good, so much that I'd say it's the exception rather than the rule.
Mind posting a more direct link?
quad wroteThanks again for the astute post, I'm glad some people take time to research and document.
I just hold the Military Institution at heart and don't like misconceptions about it.
Thanks, I only wish people were able to know more about how the military truly works, most importantly the children who are getting hypnotized with all the trending militaristic propaganda on the streets and in the schools.