why does the military get tax free but civilians dont?

ok i was in the airforce for 4 years and when we deployed our income was always tax free. whether we were in iraq for 4 months or 12 months. the money we earned while in theater was tax free.

now that im a contractor they are telling us that we have to be overseas for 330 days inorder to get tax free income. whats the deal with that??

and how does the irs prove that you werent overseas. (not that im trying anything funny, i actually have taxes coming out due to the fear of the contract not lasting a year)

thanks in advance!

Hey slim
every cloud silver lining and all that
you will be making FAR more than a soldier could ever wish to earn for being in a war zone, you will be well protected and shouldnt have to leave the base , which is guarded by armed men,.
you are choosing to go , a soldier is TOLD he is going whether he wants to or not
you have your freedom of choice and will be paid handsomely for it
if you are not keen on the tax situation and feel it unfair then just take a vacation so you are out the country then you can keep every cent.
I get frustrated too with taxation
but the fact is the army boys have it hard, especially on the front line, getting blown up with roadside bombs etc for very little pay in comparison to contractors