Salary
Average Salary: $68,300
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,577,000
You're not doing this for the money, soldier. This is for your country. This is to be the best you can be.
Still, it would be nice to know that you can pay the rent and buy new britches after you stain yours from all the horrible things you see and do.
Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast numbers for what a member of the Unit will make. And there's a perverse empowerment here—imagine what a "retired" Delta Force agent could do just...robbing people. Taking the cash from drug deals. Maybe a money laundering invasion. Likely very lucrative. So as citizens, we want to keep these guys at least reasonably well paid.
Most of what soldiers make is based on their rank. The minimum rank required for Delta Force (E4, or "I've been a soldier for a few years now and haven't blown up any government property") would put you at roughly $55,000 a year (source).
As you rise in rank, this could reach as much as $100,000 per year, but don't count on it. Many Special Forces members suffer burnout and retire well before then. After retirement, Operators are looking at getting a job with a private security firm or as an adviser on Stone Cold Steve Austin movies.
A fancy event, but we still feel like he's about to throw down.
There are also bonuses offered for joining these units, and bonuses offered for other reasons throughout your career. However, like most things involving Delta Force, this bonus structure is classified.
One of the biggest benefits of being in the military, however, comes with the reduction to a soldier's cost of living. The U.S. Armed Forces will cover a percentage of a soldier's housing (this percentage increases exponentially if the soldier lives on base). There are also government-run stores on the bases that sell everything from food to soap to sports cars at cost, which could reduce the cost of living significantly, allowing GI Joe to stretch $60,000 per year much further than Average Joe.