Depends on how you look at it. If you say you get free food, free housing, free medical, etc, then you look at your base pay and that's all you get paid.
Everyone gets "paid" whether the money goes to a chow hall or to their pockets for their food, everyone gets "paid" for housing whether it goes to the dorm upkeep fund or to your pocket for off-base rent/mortgage. Ever see those "hey, we figured it up and you make about this much if you were a civilian based off things we give you but you never see in your check." Well, according to them I make just shy of $30k after being in the military for about a year and a half. And it goes up fairly quick.
I don't know, salary (and the military) does have its benefits, but at the same time the down sides can be kinda steep as well.
