For comparison, in 1942, an American Private was paid approximately $50 per month (or 204 yen); meaning the lowest ranking soldier in the United States military, was earning equivalent to the maximum salary of an Imperial Japanese Major, or the base salary of an Imperial Japanese Lieutenant Colonel, and about 25 times as much as an Imperial Japanese soldier of the same rank. While disproportionate salary ranges were not uncommon between militaries during World War II, for example Australian enlistees could expect to receive roughly triple as much in pay as their counterparts fighting for the United Kingdom, by any standards, despite being widely considered a “first rate”, or professional fighting force, men serving in the IJA were very poorly compensated.