Hazardous Duty Pay, now worth the price of a combo meal at Arby's

[XNavyNuke]

Thank you for allowing your country's crappy foreign policy to try and kill you. Here's $7.50 a day for the honor.

http://www.military.com/news/article/danger-pay-now-calculated-by-the-day.html?comp=1198882887570&rank=1

The change, signed into law by President Barrack Obama on Dec. 31 as part of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, should have little effect on troops on long-term deployments in hazardous areas. But it could reduce the paychecks of officers making short visits to designated locations or Sailors passing through them, Lainez said.

Pentagon officials said affected servicemembers should begin seeing the difference in their paychecks on Feb. 15.

Yet another bennie from the NDAA. And you wonder why military folks support Dr. Paul?

XNN

 

[Zippyjuan]

They are getting the same daily rate as before. It just counts it by how many days you are in what is considered a hazardous area.
Under the previous system you got a full months hazard pay even if you only spent one day in the area.
From the link:

Up to now, servicemembers received a full month’s imminent-danger pay -- $225 -- for spending even a single day in designated hazardous areas, which range from war zones such as Afghanistan to out-of-the-way spots like Montenegro.

But beginning Feb. 1, they’ll get the extra pay only for days they’re actually present in the danger zones. The prorated daily amount works out to $7.50.

“This is a more targeted way of handling that pay,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby said Thursday.

The exception is for troops exposed to hostile fire.

“If you take fire, you get the full $225,” regardless of time spent in the area, said DoD spokeswoman Eileen Lainez.

The change, signed into law by President Barrack Obama on Dec. 31 as part of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, should have little effect on troops on long-term deployments in hazardous areas. But it could reduce the paychecks of officers making short visits to designated locations or Sailors passing through them, Lainez said.

 

[Domalais]

This is a completely fabricated problem.


Prior to this change, individual service members and, in some cases, entire organizations would game their deployment and redeployment dates so that they would touch as many months as possible and rake in IDP.

 

[XNavyNuke]

They are getting the same daily rate as before. It just counts it by how many days you are in what is considered a hazardous area.
Under the previous system you got a full months hazard pay even if you only spent one day in the area.

Uh huh. And in Gulf War I we got $150, which is nearly $400 in buying power in today's dollars, which is closer to a Jackson than an Abe and couple of Georges. The troops are getting nickel and dimed, and they know it.

XNN

 

[oyarde]

//

 

[Pericles]

Uh huh. And in Gulf War I we got $150, which is nearly $400 in buying power in today's dollars, which is closer to a Jackson than an Abe and couple of Georges. The troops are getting nickel and dimed, and they know it.

XNN

The other thing was the income tax exclusion - we might check on what has happened with that ..........

 

[The One]

Sweet...I'm gonna have the chicken cordon bleu combo with red ranch sauce. It's my favorite. I wish hazardous duty pay was just a little more, though, so I could add a jamocha shake.

 

[oyarde]

The other thing was the income tax exclusion - we might check on what has happened with that ..........

I cannot even remember , first time I may have noticed it on my L E S , seems like it may have been thirty or forty dollars , maybe last time over a hundred , were they taxing it ? I know all the years I was overseas there were state , county and Fed taxes witholding , but I do not recall if clothing allowance etc was exempt ?

 

[oyarde]

Sweet...I'm gonna have the chicken cordon bleu combo with red ranch sauce. It's my favorite. I wish hazardous duty pay was just a little more, though, so I could add a jamocha shake.

7.50 , that is , what ? two gallons of gas ?

 

[TRIGRHAPPY]

The income tax exclusion is not effective. For instance, if you leave the AOR on March 1st, all your march pay is tax free. However, if you leave the AOR on March 1st, you get a whopping $7.50 imminent danger pay, whereas before you'd get the whole month.

I remember my time in USAFE, General Foglesong would game the system by going to Incirlik AB once a month....thereby getting his IDP and his entire paycheck tax free. It only cost taxpayers thousands upon thousands of dollars in fuel costs to fly his fat ass in and give him the perks of a deployment without the downside of actually putting your ass on the line.

 

[XNavyNuke]

I wish hazardous duty pay was just a little more, though, so I could add a jamocha shake.

By comparison, in the Korean War hazard pay was $45 (which would happen to allow you to get a 1-ounce gold coin at the end of the month, with a couple of Abe's left over as change.) You could by quite a few shakes with that now couldn't you?

XNN

 

[oyarde]

By comparison, in the Korean War hazard pay was $45 (which would happen to allow you to get a 1-ounce gold coin at the end of the month, with a couple of Abe's left over as change.) You could by quite a few shakes with that now couldn't you?

XNN

Yep and you could pick up a silver dollar for a dollar.

 

[Domalais]

By comparison, in the Korean War hazard pay was $45 (which would happen to allow you to get a 1-ounce gold coin at the end of the month, with a couple of Abe's left over as change.) You could by quite a few shakes with that now couldn't you?

XNN

During the Korean War, hazard pay was for hazardous duty.


Now it's a bonus pay for living somewhere unpleasant.

 

[Kelly.]

why should anyone get extra pay for being in harms way..... when they volunteered to BE PUT IN HARMS WAY ??

 

[klamath]

I can't wait until the institute the draft.

 

[XNavyNuke]

Combat pay exclusion now a tax credit instead.

Pentagon review proposes changes to military combat pay

A Pentagon review recently proposed significant changes to military combat pay to include doing away with a tax-free combat zone and establishing pay differentials in favor of those service members who spend more time in hostile territory.

The 11th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation’s most controversial proposal involves replacing the current combat tax exclusion for military members with a refundable combat tax credit and a refundable direct support tax credit, according to the recent QRMC report.

They're working really hard with their fuzzy math.

XNN

 

[Pericles]

Combat pay exclusion now a tax credit instead.

Pentagon review proposes changes to military combat pay




They're working really hard with their fuzzy math.

XNN

Tax credits do not come out of the budget of the 5 sided rat cage. Pay and allowences do.

Follow the money - you can be sure its not going to the troops.

 

[oyarde]

Combat pay exclusion now a tax credit instead.

Pentagon review proposes changes to military combat pay




They're working really hard with their fuzzy math.

XNN

Yep , slight of hand , nut and shell , does not come out of the budget .

 

[Weston White]

Bahrain, for instance, remains a designated a combat zone even though military members are allowed to move there with their families. As a result, service members stationed in Bahrain receive the same hostile fire pay and imminent danger pay as those military personnel who are actually in combat.

Quick somebody call CPS on the entire military!

“I feel very strongly about this and I completely agree with (the pay differentials),” said Lozano. “People are out there risking their lives and you have other (personnel) who are getting the same amount of money and the same amount of credit, but they have hot showers and hot food and they’re getting credit for the things that (those in danger) are doing.”

That’s because it is one huge, gigantic scam!

Troops, how’s about, instead of complaining about it, while going along with it, perhaps you should start actively questioning the reasoning and necessity of it (“it” being the hundreds of U.S. Military bases all over the world and the half-dozen presently undeclared wars).


However, my question concerning all of this would be, why do the troops that signed into the military because they thought it would totally awesome to fire fully automatic guns at struggling people of other nationalities, or to “spread democracy” (whatever the hell that is even suppose to even mean), or whatever feel that they are entitled to so many different forms of pay and benefits, e.g., regular pay, COLA, hazardous duty pay, flight operations pay, tax exemption of all pay, tax free room and board, sea-bag allowances, chits, etc?

 

[XNavyNuke]

However, my question concerning all of this would be, why do the troops that signed into the military because they thought it would totally awesome to fire fully automatic guns at struggling people of other nationalities, or to “spread democracy” (whatever the hell that is even suppose to even mean), or whatever feel that they are entitled to so many different forms of pay and benefits, e.g., regular pay, COLA, hazardous duty pay, flight operations pay, tax exemption of all pay, tax free room and board, sea-bag allowances, chits, etc?

A worthy question. I'm sure that some percentage of the officer and enlisted corps hold such a view. I'm not sure how many that have that view are members here though. Might be better to pose the question over at Freep or HuffPo (assuming that you weren't just being rhetorical). Not many 18 or 22 yo's have the political capital to demand the implementation of policies that you mention. Like it or not, such programs are put in place by 60, 70, 80 yo elected representatives.

XNN