The Pentagon has raised hostile-fire pay to $450 per month and increased imminent danger pay to $275, the first boost to those stipends since 2002. The changes, enacted via a mid-July memo effective at the start of the new fiscal year, set imminent danger pay at $9.16 per day (capped at $275). Service members may not collect both stipends for the same period. Officials say the tiered model better matches pay to actual combat risk amid ongoing U.S. exposure in the Middle East.
Pentagon Raises Combat Stipends: Hostile-Fire Pay Doubled, Imminent Danger Pay Upgraded
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The Pentagon has increased its two primary combat-related stipends, marking the first change to those payments since 2002. Hostile-fire pay has been doubled to $450 per month, while imminent danger pay has been raised to $275 per month. The revisions took effect at the start of the new fiscal year under a mid-July memo from Timothy Dill, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
What Changed
Under the revised structure, imminent danger pay will be prorated at $9.16 per day (up from $7.50), with a monthly cap of $275 based on days served in a designated danger zone. Service members are not permitted to collect both hostile-fire pay and imminent danger pay for the same period.
Officials' Comments
"Troops who face combat deserve higher compensation that reflects the risks they take on behalf of the country," said Anthony Tata, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, according to Stars and Stripes.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell described the new tiered model as a way to distinguish between areas of potential danger and zones experiencing active hostile fire. The tiered approach allows commanders to reclassify pay from imminent danger to hostile-fire pay the moment conditions escalate into active combat, providing a clearer and more timely mechanism to acknowledge elevated risk.
Background and Scope
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), which administers military pay, currently lists 58 locations that qualify for imminent danger pay. The two stipends had been fixed at $225 per month since October 2002. Prior to 2002, hazardous-duty payments varied by rank and assignment, typically ranging from $100 to $240 per month.
The Marine Corps adopted the new rates last week. The Pentagon’s action extends the adjusted stipends to soldiers, airmen, sailors and Space Force guardians. The change arrives as the Iran-related conflict enters its seventh month, with U.S. forces continuing to face combat and reprisal strikes across parts of the Middle East.
Source: Navy Times, Stars and Stripes, Pentagon statements.
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