I was in the Army as well and have worked as GS. That has absolutely no bearing on this conversation. Why? Because you don't negotiate your salary in the Army.

I was in the Army as well and have worked as GS. That has absolutely no bearing on this conversation. Why? Because you don't negotiate your salary in the Army. You're an E1, you make E1 pay. You're in combat? You make E1 + hazard. You didn't go in and negotiate for an extra $30k because you attended MIT over FSU.