Treatment for enlisted personnel in the US Air Force has improved over the last couple of decades. Benefits for Servicemembers have improved, and there that stack up pretty well to what is available in the private sector. The benefits are numerous, and if you are a young person looking for job training and good benefits then joining the Air Force is a smart career choice. You will be eligible for a number of housing, food, pay, and other benefits as an enlisted person and as a member of the Air Force.
Food- If you are single, you can choose to receive instead ?rations in kind? and eat at the meal facility or dining hall on base for up to four meals a day for free. As a Airman in the Air Force you will receive a daily food allowance. This likely will be a financial amount that you can use to purchase food and eat with your spouse and family at home. There is often a variety of food choices, many of which are often of the ?home cooked? type. Salary- When you consider Food, Housing and other benefits, and then it becomes very attractive as a starting level salary. The Armed Forces is the salary is pretty good- after boot camp you will receive about $1500 dollars or so a month as an E-2 or E-3, and as you are in longer, and rise in rank the amount you make goes up. Housing- When you live off base and arrange for your own housing, then you will receive an amount that covers these housing related issues, and it is a tax-free benefit, not subject to state or federal taxes. If you live on base, then your basic allowance for quarters will be less because it is likely that the housing and all utilities will be provided by the Air Force as part of its base housing.
Depending on your duty station, and your eventual rank/seniority, you will have an opportunity later on to live off base. When you are an enlisted person in the Air Force you are eligible for housing and the amount is very reasonable. You will receive an amount that covers living expenses, utilities, and maintenance.