Good news for those serving in combat zones and those who have serviced in a combat zone anytime after October 1, 2002.
On April 16, 2003, President Bush signed a supplemental military spending bill into law which authorizes an additional $79 Billion to the military to help pay for the war in Iraq.
As part of this bill, Imminent Danger Pay (commonly referred to as "combat pay") increased from $150 per month to $225 per month. Additionally, Family Separation Allowance (FSA), which is payable anytime a military member is away from his/her dependents for longer than 30 days because of military orders, increased from $100 per month to $250 per month.
The good news is that these rates are retroactive to October 1, 2002, so anyone who received combat pay or family separation allowance on or after October 1 of last year will see the back-pay in an upcoming paycheck. The FSA provision is not dependent upon combat zone. In other words, even those separated from dependents for basic training and job training qualify for the higher rates, if separated anytime during FY 2003.
The bad news is these new rates are temporary. As the law is currently written, the new rates expire at the end of the fiscal year. That means, unless Congress takes separate action as part of the FY2004 Military Appropriations Act and Military Authorization Act, the rates will revert back to the original levels on 1 October 2003. GUIDE NOTE: The FY 2004 Military Authorization Act, recently approved by Congress extends these higher payments until December 31, 2004.
Imminent danger pay is payable for service in a designated combat zone. The current designated combat zones are: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Croatia, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Montenegro, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines (for some), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia (Kosovo), Tajikistan, Turkey (selected units), United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and Iraq.
In a separate action, an order signed by Charles Abell, principal deputy defense secretary for personnel and readiness, a new monthly hardship duty pay of $100 per month is authorized for military personnel performing duty in Iraq or Kuwait. This order went into effect for duty in Iraq or Kuwait after March 31, 2003.
The previous hardship duty allowance for Kuwait was $50 per month, and those serving in Kuwait City did not qualify. Prior to this order, there was no rate established for Iraq. The same order also established a hardship duty allowance of $50 per month for military members serving in Israel.
Hardship duty pay is payable to personnel serving in locations which have been designated by the Department of Defense as having arduous or austere conditions. Because hardship duty pay factors in an element of risk, those who serve in areas which authorize the payment of imminent danger pay (combat pay) usually do not receive the highest amount of hardship duty pay authorized. There are three levels of hardship duty pay, $50 per month, $100 per month, and $150 per month.
