Steve said, """Yeah...fixed by Mr. 15% Inflation Carter. Uh huh...I
remember. He enacted a 17.5% one time parity raise for the Armed
Forces, then taxed the bee-jeebers out of us."""

The 17.5% was a maximum for certain ranks, not an overall raise. BTW,
you are a recipient of that raise.

It just might have been the 1st Peace Dividend; the US Government
making peace with the anti-war, anti-draft protesters (J.F. Kerry) by
withdrawing from Vietnam, ending the draft, and invoking a RIF.