Wow, even for an 8 hour DESK day job that would be low...let alone a job where you risk your life and are on call 24/7
Two of my cousins are in the US army and US Airforce respectively. One was recently killed on the ground in Iraq (after being there on and off for 5 years now) and the other was actually just telling me about how relatively little he gets paid as a pilot! ...so its not just a Canadian thing.