Mo Money, Mo Problems

A couple weeks ago, I was checking my LES (Leave & Earnings Statement) like I do at the end of every month. Usually, I just look at what I'll be paid and how many days of leave I have; but this time, something caught my eye. For some reason, I was collecting dependent-rate housing allowance plus a few other benefits, even though I'm single. I immediately went to the finance office (quickly becoming my favourite place on base!), and asked why I was getting overpaid and what I needed to do about it. At first glance, the guy told me I'd been getting paid an extra $800 per month. That's when I blacked out. After the smelling salts, they told me they'd look into it, and to come back this week to find out what's going on.
Needless to say, I've been a little nervous for the past few days.
I went back today and found out things weren't as bad as they first seemed. It seems I caught the mistake before finance did, or at least the biggest part of it. My next paycheck is going to be about $8000 over what it should be, because they thought they'd made an error and are trying to give me back-pay. After it gets deposited into my account, I have to immediately write a check for that amount back to the Air Force. Also, over the past five months, I've been overpaid a total of about $3000, which will be taken out of my pay in equal installments over the next year (about $250 per month). So, yeah, it kinda stinks, but it's not nearly as bad as it could have been.
But as long as I'm on the subject, I'd just like to bring up the topic of single vs. dependent-rate pay and allowances. I sometimes feel like single people are treated a little unfairly in the military. For instance, brand new single airmen are forced to live in dormitories, while a married airman of the same rank and age can opt to live off-base. And how does the married airman pay for off-base quarters? He gets paid more money. To me, that's kinda bullshit. It's not like the military issued the married guy his family. It's his choice to get married and/or have children. Why should the single guy with no dependents get paid any less for doing the same work?
I could also go on another tangent about gay marriage and not allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military, but I think I've ranted enough for now.