HILL AIR FORCE BASE — The list of dangerous places in the world will soon become considerably smaller — at least according to the Department of Defense. The military announced earlier this month that it is planning to scale back bonus pay for service members who deploy to dangerous parts of the world. Beginning June 1, the DoD plans to discontinue its “imminent danger pay,” or IDP, in multiple countries where U.S. forces either are already deployed, have recently deployed or will deploy in the near future. Locations where IDP designation will be discontinued: • The six land areas and the airspace above Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro. • The nine land areas of East Timor, Haiti, Liberia, Oman, Rwanda, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. • The water and air space above the Persian Gulf. Service members deployed to the affected locations won’t be grandfathered into the previous pay entitlements, according to the Air Force Personnel Center. “The IDP recertification process is an assessment that includes input from combatant commands, the joint staff and the military services,” Lt. Col. Kevin Naman, Air Force Compensation and Travel Policy Division, said in a news release. “The resulting discontinuation of IDP at certain locations by no means diminishes the hard work and sacrifices our airmen make at these locations daily.” Hill Air Force Base spokesman Rich Essary confirmed that airmen on base who may deploy to those locations will be affected by the change, and airmen at Hill have deployed to the locations in the past. Military deployed to the following locations will continue to receive IDP: Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Yemen, Mediterranean Sea and Somalia Basin. About 194,000 military members received IDP in 2012, according to the DoD. As a result of the upcoming change, about 50,000 fewer service members will be receiving the bonus. In 2012, the DoD spent approximately $500 million on IDP. The DoD figures to save about $100 million as a result of the planned cuts. According to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, the benefit provides troops in imminent danger areas a flat rate of $7.50 per day up to a maximum of $225 per month.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 14:15:41 +0000
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