Military compensation is a complicated system with many components but the foundation of compensation, or salary starts with basic pay. As with private sector wages and salaries, the Department of Labor uses the measure of the Employment Cost Index to calculate statistics and update pay raises for the following fiscal year. Congress can also enact raises that exceed these percentages as they did for 2008 and 2009.

Basic pay is received by all and is the foundation of each service members salary. It is the same at each pay grade across all of the services branches. A member's grade, rank and years of service determines the amount of basic pay received.

Beyond basic pay and allowances there are various salaries available to service members. The U.S. military also provides military service members with allowances, which provides money for specific essential needs like food and housing.

Service members living on a U.S. military base can purchase many household items, food and clothing at discounts in the base commissary, a military store that sells items to service members at close to cost. These discounts add up quickly, especially when shopping for a family.

In addition to standard military benefits, service members are also eligible for unofficial perks from the private companies. These companies offer products and services at discounts for military service members in recognition and support of service members.

The following are common discounted products and services for U.S. service members: travel and hotel accommodations, clothing, dining and grocery, electronics, education, automotive and magazines.

In fact, active-deployed service members can receive magazines for free through the magazine subscription program Subscriptions for Soldiers, via a website sponsored by Internet retailer Magazines.com. Service members visit the site and sign up for three magazine subscriptions of their choice from a variety of magazine titles like Guns & Ammo, Muscle & Fitness, Shape and Star magazine.

Though private company discounts are not an official extension of Department of Defense benefits, these discounts are widely known and commonly used as a way of saying thank you to U.S. military service members. Companies offering military discounts are hugely varied so always check a retailer before making a purchase.