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The Pentagon has increased pay for military personnel in combat or serving in dangerous locations for the first time in more than two decades.
The monthly rate for hostile fire pay has increased from $225 to $450, and imminent danger pay is now $275 per month. The new amounts took effect Oct. 1.
Since October 2002, both HFP and IDP pay have been set at a flat monthly rate of $225.
Defense Department officials said the increases are designed to appropriately compensate service members for different levels of operational risk they face in uniform.
According to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, HFP is paid when certified by appropriate commanders to military members subjected to:
- Subjected to hostile fire or explosion of a hostile mine
- On duty in an area in close proximity to a hostile fire incident and the member is in danger of being exposed to the same dangers actually experienced by other service members subjected to hostile fire or explosion of hostile mines
- Killed, injured, or wounded by hostile fire, explosion of a hostile mine, or any other hostile action
Members are eligible for IDP when serving on official duty within a designated area, according to a list maintained by DFAS. Last updated in May, the list includes 58 locations.
“If an IDP-designated area escalates into active combat, commanders can transition personnel from IDP to HPD immediately,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement last week. “This provides a clear and timely mechanism to acknowledge heightened risk levels.”
Service members may not receive both HFP and IDP for the same period of service, Parnell added.
The release stated that the Pentagon, under 37 U.S. Code § 351, is granted statutory authority to increase HFP to a maximum amount of $450 per month and IDP to a maximum amount of $275 per month, as authorized by Congress and outlined in federal law.
The defense secretary is authorized to establish any amount up to the statutory ceiling.
—By John Goheen
