Report to Congressional Committees

United States General Accounting Office 

GAO

June 2004 MILITARY 

PERSONNEL 

DOD Has Not 

Implemented the 

High Deployment 

Allowance That 

Could Compensate 

Servicemembers 

Deployed Frequently 

for Short Periods 

GAO-04-805 
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-805.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact Derek B. 

Stewart at (202) 512-5559 or 

stewartd@gao.gov. 

Highlights of GAO-04-805, a report to 

Congressional Committees 

June 2004

MILITARY PERSONNEL

DOD Has Not Implemented the High 

Deployment Allowance That Could 

Compensate Servicemembers Deployed 

Frequently for Short Periods 

In 1963, Congress established the family separation allowance to help offset 

the additional expenses that may be incurred by the dependents of 

servicemembers who are away from their permanent duty station for more 

than 30 consecutive days. Additional expenses may include the costs 

associated with home repairs, automobile maintenance, and childcare that 

could have been performed by the deployed servicemember. Over the years, 

the eligibility requirements for the family separation allowance have 

changed. Today, the family separation allowance is authorized for officers 

and enlisted in all pay grades at a flat rate. The rationale for establishing the 

30-day threshold is unknown. 

DOD has not identified frequent short-term deployments as a family 

separation allowance issue. No proposals seeking modifications to the 

family separation allowance because of frequent short-term deployments 

have been provided to DOD for consideration as part of DOD’s Unified 

Legislation and Budgeting process, which reviews personnel pay proposals. 

Further, DOD officials were not aware of any specific concerns that have 

been raised by frequently deployed servicemembers about their eligibility to 

receive the family separation allowance. Based on group discussions with 

Air Force strategic airlift aircrews, who were identified as examples of those 

most likely to be experiencing short-term deployments, we did not identify 

any specific concerns regarding the lack of family separation allowance 

compensation associated with short-term deployments. Rather, many 

aircrew members indicated the high pace of operations and associated 

unpredictability of their schedules was a greater concern due to the negative 

impact on their quality of life. 

In addition to basic military compensation, DOD has several special pays 

and allowances to further compensate servicemembers deployed for short 

periods. Servicemembers who are deployed for less than 30 days may be 

eligible to receive regular per diem. The per diem amount varies depending 

upon location. For example, these rates range from $86 to $284 per day 

within the United States and from $20 to $533 per day when outside the 

United States. However, DOD has not implemented the high deployment 

allowance designed, in part, to compensate those frequently deployed for 

shorter periods. Congress supported DOD’s legislative proposal to authorize 

a monthly high deployment allowance. This allowance permits the services 

to compensate members for lengthy as well as frequent shorter deployments. 

The most recent amendment to this provision provides DOD with the 

authority to adjust a cumulative day threshold to help compensate 

servicemembers experiencing frequent short deployments. DOD has 

flexibility to exclude all occupations except those that it wishes to target for 

additional pay. However, DOD has not established criteria to implement this 

allowance, nor has DOD set a timetable for establishing such criteria. 

The fiscal year 2004 National 

Defense Authorization Act directed 

GAO to assess the special pays and 

allowances for servicemembers 

who are frequently deployed for 

less than 30 days, and to 

specifically review the family 

separation allowance. GAO’s 

objectives were to assess (1) the 

rationale for the family separation 

allowance eligibility requirements, 

including the required duration of 

more than 30 consecutive days 

away from a member’s duty station; 

(2) the extent to which DOD has 

identified short-term deployments 

as a family separation allowance 

issue; and (3) what special pays 

and allowances, in addition to basic

military compensation, are 

available to compensate members 

deployed for less than 30 days. 

GAO recommends DOD take the 

following actions: (1) set a 

timetable for establishing criteria 

to implement the high deployment 

allowance; (2) define, as part of the 

criteria, what constitutes frequent 

short-term deployments within the 

context of the cumulative day 

requirement as stated in the high 

deployment legislation; and (3) 

determine, as part of the criteria, 

ways of targeting the deployment 

allowance to selected occupations. 

DOD partially concurred with our 

recommendations because it views 

the deployment allowance as a 

peacetime authority. GAO believes 

our current wartime situation does 

not prevent DOD from setting a 

timetable for establishing criteria. 
Page i GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

Letter 1

Results in Brief 3

Background 5

Congressional Rationale for DOD’s Family Separation Allowance 

Eligibility Requirements 6

DOD Has Not Identified Frequent Deployments Less Than 30-days 

as a Family Separation Allowance Issue 7

Personnel Deployed Less Than 30 Days May Be Eligible to Receive 

Additional Compensation 10

Conclusions 15

Recommendations 16

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 16

Scope and Methodology 17

Appendix I Comments from the Department of Defense 21 

Related GAO Products 26

Table 

Table 1: Special Pays and Allowances Available for Short-Term 

Deployments as of June 2004 11

Figure 

Figure 1: Average Number of Days C-5 Co-Pilots Have Been 

Deployed, January 2001 through December 2003 9

Contents 
Page ii GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

Abbreviations 

AMC Air Mobility Command 

DOD Department of Defense 

OSD Office of the Secretary of Defense 

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Page 1 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

June 25, 2004 

Congressional Committees 

The Department of Defense (DOD) considers a servicemember as 

deployed when a member is on orders and performing duties in a training 

exercise or operation at a location or under circumstances that make it 

impossible or infeasible for the member to spend off-duty time at the 

member’s permanent duty station or homeport. While deployed, in 

addition to receiving basic military compensation,1

 servicemembers can 

receive a variety of special pays and allowances intended to (1) help the 

uniformed services meet specific manpower requirements and 

(2) compensate servicemembers for hardships associated with their 

deployments. For example, servicemembers who have dependents and are 

deployed for more than 30 consecutive days are eligible to receive the 

family separation allowance. In April 2003, Congress temporarily 

increased the amount of the family separation allowance by 150 percent 

(from $100 to $250 per month) as part of the Emergency Wartime 

Supplemental Appropriations Act. Congress has since extended this 

increase until December 2004; at which time it will expire unless renewed 

or made permanent. According to DOD officials, the latest estimated cost 

of the family separation allowance for fiscal year 2004 is $1.1 billion with 

an average of 359,000 monthly recipients.2

 When this estimated cost is 

compared to the fiscal year 2002 obligations, the budget for the family 

separation allowance increases by 850 percent. This increase is primarily 

due to the increase in the monthly rate paid for family separation 

allowance and the increased number of personnel deployed in support of 

the global war on terrorism. 

 1

 Basic military compensation consists of basic pay, basic allowance for housing, basic 

allowance for subsistence, and the federal tax advantage. The federal tax advantage is to 

account for the tax-free status of housing and subsistence allowances. It is the added 

amount of taxable income that servicemembers would have to receive in cash if housing 

and subsistence allowances were to become taxable in order for them to be as well off in 

after-tax income as they are under the existing system. Basic compensation does not 

include special and incentive pays, other allowances, and the value of fringe benefits such 

as health care and retirement. 

2

 Data on the total annual number of family separation allowance recipients was not 

available. 

United States General Accounting Office 

Washington, DC 20548 
Page 2 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 directed GAO 

to assess the special pays and allowances for servicemembers who are 

frequently deployed for less than 30 days. The act directed GAO to 

specifically review the eligibility requirements for the family separation 

allowance, including those related to the required duration of more than 

30 consecutive days away from a servicemember’s permanent duty station. 

As agreed with your offices, our objectives were to assess (1) the rationale 

for family separation allowance eligibility requirements, including the 

30-day threshold; (2) the extent to which DOD has identified frequent 

short-term deployments as a family separation allowance issue; and 

(3) what special pays and allowances are available, in addition to basic 

compensation, to further compensate servicemembers deployed for less 

than 30 days. 

To conduct our review, we analyzed the legislative history and respective 

DOD policies for selected special pays and allowances. We reviewed 

proposals to make changes to the family separation allowance submitted 

through DOD’s Unified Legislation and Budgeting process. We held 

discussions with officials from the Office of the Under Secretary of 

Defense (Personnel and Readiness) and each of the services. We focused 

our study on the Air Force since the reported average number of days Air 

Force personnel were deployed in fiscal year 2002, the latest available 

data, was less than 30 days. Further, through discussions with Air Force 

officials we identified strategic airlift C-5 aircrews managed by the Air 

Mobility Command (AMC) as examples of those who would most likely be 

experiencing short-term deployments.3

 We assessed the reliability of AMC 

deployment data and determined that the data were sufficiently reliable 

for the purposes of this report. To explore family separation allowance 

issues at a location overseen by AMC, we conducted group discussions 

with officers and enlisted servicemembers at Travis Air Force Base. We 

also reviewed previously issued GAO reports on military compensation 

(see Related GAO Products). More information on our scope and 

methodology is provided at the end of this letter. We conducted our review 

from January 2004 to May 2004 in accordance with generally accepted 

government auditing standards. 

 3

 Air Force officials also identified other occupations that have been frequently deployed 

for less than 30 days such as flying crew chiefs, who are responsible for launch, recovery, 

inspection, servicing, and maintenance of aircraft. Other service officials identified 

inspection team members as another example of personnel who are deployed frequently 

for short periods. 
Page 3 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

In 1963, Congress established the family separation allowance to help 

offset the additional expenses that may be incurred by the dependents of 

servicemembers who are away from their permanent duty station for more 

than 30 consecutive days. Additional expenses may include the costs 

associated with home repairs, automobile maintenance, and childcare that 

could have been performed by the deployed servicemember. Over the 

years, the eligibility requirements for the family separation allowance have 

changed. Today, the family separation allowance is authorized for officers 

and enlisted in all pay grades at a flat rate. The rationale for establishing 

the 30-day threshold is unknown. 

DOD has not identified frequent short-term deployments for less than 

30 days as a family separation allowance issue. No proposals seeking 

modifications to the family separation allowance because of frequent 

short-term deployments have been provided to DOD for consideration as 

part of DOD’s Unified Legislation and Budgeting process, which reviews 

personnel compensation proposals. Further, DOD officials—including 

those in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the services, the 

national guard, and reserves—were not aware of any specific concerns 

raised by frequently deployed servicemembers about their eligibility to 

receive the family separation allowance. Based on group discussions with 

Air Force strategic C-5 airlift aircrews, we did not identify any specific 

concerns regarding the lack of family separation allowance compensation 

associated with short-term deployments. Rather, many of the aircrew 

members indicated that the high pace of operations and associated 

unpredictability of their schedules was a greater concern to them due to 

the negative impact on their quality of life. 

In addition to basic compensation, DOD has several special pays and 

allowances available to further compensate servicemembers deployed for 

less than 30 days. Servicemembers who are deployed for less than 30 days 

may be eligible to receive regular per diem, which is used to pay for 

lodging, meals, and incidental expenses while deployed. The per diem 

amount varies depending upon location. For example, these rates range 

from $86 to $284 per day within the continental United States and from 

$20 to $533 per day when outside the continental United States. 

Servicemembers may also be eligible to receive several other pays and 

allowances, such as hazardous duty pay, mission-oriented hardship duty 

pay, and combat zone tax exclusions. However, DOD has not implemented 

one special allowance—the high deployment allowance—designed, in 

part, to compensate those frequently deployed for short periods. Congress 

supported DOD’s legislative proposal to authorize the monthly high 

deployment allowance with passage of the National Defense Authorization 

Results in Brief 
Page 4 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

Act of 2004. The high deployment allowance permits the services to 

compensate their members for lengthy deployments as well as frequent 

shorter deployments. The most recent amendment to this provision 

provides the Secretary of Defense with the authority to adjust a 

cumulative day threshold to help compensate servicemembers 

experiencing frequent shorter deployments. This provision also provides 

additional flexibility in targeting the allowance to selected occupational 

specialties, by allowing DOD to exclude all occupations except those that 

it wishes to target for additional compensation due to retention concerns. 

However, DOD has not established criteria that would (1) define what 

constitutes frequent deployments and (2) determine eligibility 

requirements for the high deployment allowance, nor has DOD set a 

timetable for establishing such criteria. 

This report contains recommendations for DOD to set a timetable for 

establishing criteria to implement the high deployment allowance and 

what the criteria should include. In its comments on a draft of this report, 

DOD partially concurred with the report’s recommendations because it 

views the high deployment allowance as a peacetime authority. We believe 

our current wartime situation does not prevent DOD from setting a 

timetable for establishing criteria. Further, given the expectations for a 

long-term commitment to the war on terrorism, developing the criteria for 

implementing the high deployment allowance would provide DOD with an 

additional option for compensating those military personnel who are 

frequently deployed for short periods. 
Page 5 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

AMC, located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is responsible for providing 

strategic airlift, including air refueling, special air missions, and 

aeromedical evacuation. As part of that mission, AMC is responsible for 

tasking 67 C-5 aircraft: 35 stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California 

and 32 stationed at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Unlike other Air 

Force aircraft, the C-5 is rarely deployed for more than 30 days, since it is 

primarily used to move cargo from the United States to locations 

worldwide. As a result, C-5 aircrews are deployed away from home for 

several weeks and then return to their home station. Other Air Force 

aircraft, such as the KC-10, can carry cargo but are primarily used to refuel 

other aircraft and can be deployed to locations around the world for 

extended periods of time. Since September 11, 2001, C-5 aircrews have 

been deployed for periods of time less than 30-days, generally ranging 

from 7 to 24 days. 

Known for its ability to carry oversized and heavy loads, the C-5 can 

transport a wide variety of cargo, including helicopters and Abrams M1A1 

Tanks to destinations worldwide. Recently, the C-5’s have been used for a 

variety of missions, including: support of presidential travel, contracted 

movement of materials by other government organizations, training 

missions, and support of operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. In 

addition, the C-5 can also transport about 70 passengers. The aircrew for a 

C-5 is comprised of two pilots, a flight engineer, and two loadmasters. 

At Travis Air Force Base there are 439 active duty and 383 reserve 

aircrew members. At Dover Air Force Base there are 650 active duty and 

344 reserve aircrew members. 

Within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Under Secretary 

of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) is responsible for DOD personnel 

policy, including oversight of military compensation. The Under Secretary 

of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) leads the Unified Legislation and 

Budgeting process, established in 1994 to develop and review personnel 

compensation proposals. As part of this process, the Under Secretary of 

Defense (Personnel and Readiness) chairs biannual meetings, attended by 

the principal voting members from the Office of the Under Secretary of 

Defense (Personnel and Readiness), including the Principle Deputy Under 

Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), the Assistant Secretary 

of Defense (Reserve Affairs), the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health 

Affairs), the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), the 

Joint Staff, and the services’ Assistant Secretaries for Manpower and 

Reserve Affairs. 

Background 
Page 6 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

In 1963, Congress established the $30-per-month family separation 

allowance to help offset the additional expenses incurred by the 

dependents of servicemembers who are away from their permanent duty 

station for more than 30 consecutive days. According to statements made 

by members of Congress during consideration of the legislation 

establishing the family separation allowance, additional expenses could 

stem from costs associated with home repairs, automobile maintenance, 

and childcare that could not be performed by the deployed 

servicemember. Over the years, the eligibility requirements for the family 

separation allowance have changed. For example, while the family 

separation allowance was initially authorized for enlisted members in pay 

grades E-5 and above as well as to enlisted members in pay grade E-4 with 

4 years of service, today the family separation allowance is authorized for 

servicemembers in all pay grades at a flat rate of $250 per month. 

Servicemembers must apply for the family separation allowance, certifying 

their eligibility to receive the allowance. The rationale for establishing the 

30-day threshold is unknown. However, DOD officials noted that 

servicemembers deployed for more than 30 days do not have the same 

opportunities to minimize household expenses as those who are deployed 

for less than 30 days. For example, servicemembers who are able to return 

to their permanent duty locations may perform home repairs and do not 

have to pay someone to do these tasks for them. 

The 1963 family separation allowance legislation was divided into two 

subsections, one associated with overseas duty and one associated with 

any travel away from the servicemembers home station. The first 

subsection was intended to compensate servicemembers who were 

permanently stationed overseas and were not authorized to bring 

dependents. The second subsection was intended to compensate 

servicemembers for added expenses associated with their absence from 

their dependents and permanent duty station for extended periods of time 

regardless of whether the members were deployed domestically or 

overseas. Originally, this aspect of family separation compensation was 

also to be based on the allowance for living quarters. At that time, 

members would receive one-third the allowance for living quarters or a flat 

rate of $30 per month, whichever amount was larger. In July of 1963, the 

Senate heard testimony from DOD officials who generally agreed with the 

proposed legislation, but raised concerns about using the allowance for 

living quarters as a baseline. Their concerns were related to the 

complexity of determining the payments and the inequities associated with 

tying payment to rank. Ultimately, DOD proposed and the Congress 

accepted a flat rate of $30 per month for eligible personnel. 

Congressional 

Rationale for DOD’s 

Family Separation 

Allowance Eligibility 

Requirements 
Page 7 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

DOD has not identified frequent short-term deployments less than 30-days 

as a family separation allowance issue. No proposals seeking 

modifications to the family separation allowance because of frequent 

short-term deployments have been provided to DOD for consideration as 

part of DOD’s Unified Legislation and Budgeting process, which reviews 

personnel compensation proposals. Since 1994, a few proposals have been 

made seeking changes to allowance amounts and eligibility requirements. 

None of the proposals sought to change the 30-day eligibility threshold. 

Further, our discussions with OSD, service, and reserve officials did not 

reveal any concerns related to frequent short-term deployments and the 

family separation allowance. To analyze concerns that might be raised by 

those experiencing frequent short-term deployments, we conducted group 

discussions with Air Force strategic C-5 airlift aircrews at Travis Air Force 

Base, which we identified as an example of servicemembers who generally 

deploy for periods less than 30 days. We did not identify any specific 

concerns regarding compensation received as a result of short-term 

deployments. We found that the C-5 aircrews were generally more 

concerned about the high pace of operations and associated 

unpredictability of their schedules, due to the negative impact on their 

quality of life, than about qualifying for the family separation allowance. 

DOD has proposed few changes to the amount of the family separation 

allowance and no proposals have been submitted to alter the 30-day 

eligibility threshold. Our review of proposals submitted through DOD’s 

Unified Legislation and Budgeting process revealed that DOD has 

considered one proposal to change the amount of the monthly family 

separation allowance since 1994. In 1997, an increase in the family 

separation allowance from $75 to $120 was proposed. This provision was 

not approved by DOD. 

Since 1994, three modifications to the eligibility criteria have also been 

proposed. In 1994, a proposal was made to allow payment of the family 

separation allowance for members embarked on board a ship or on 

temporary duty for 30 consecutive days, whose family members were 

authorized to accompany the member but voluntarily chose not to do so. 

The proposal was endorsed by DOD and accepted by Congress. In 2001, 

DOD considered but ultimately rejected a similar proposal that would 

have applied to all members who elect to serve an unaccompanied tour of 

duty. The third proposal sought to modify the use of family separation 

allowance for joint military couples (i.e. one military member married to 

another military member). According to a DOD official, while this 

proposal was not endorsed by DOD, Congress ultimately passed legislation 

DOD Has Not 

Identified Frequent 

Deployments Less 

Than 30-days as a 

Family Separation 

Allowance Issue 

DOD’s Proposals 

to Change Family 

Separation Allowance 

Have Been Minimal 
Page 8 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

that clarified the use of family separation allowance for joint military 

couples. The family separation allowance is now payable to joint military 

couples, provided the members were residing together immediately before 

being separated by reason of their military orders. Although both may 

qualify for the allowance, only one monthly allowance may be paid to a 

joint military couple during a given month. If both members were to 

receive orders requiring departure on the same day, then payment would 

be made to the senior member. 

Overall, C-5 aircrew members and aircrew leadership with whom we met 

noted that the unpredictability of missions was having more of an adverse 

impact on crewmembers’ quality of life than the compensation they 

receive as a result of their deployments. For example, several aircrew 

members at Travis Air Force Base indicated that over the past two years, 

they have been called up on very short advance notice, as little as 

12 hours, and sent on missions lasting several weeks, making it difficult to 

conduct personal business or make plans with their families. According to 

the aircrew members and both officer and enlisted leadership with whom 

we met, the unpredictability of their missions is expected to continue for 

the foreseeable future due to the global war on terrorism. Officials 

informed us that the average number of days by month that aircrew 

members have been deployed has increased since September 11, 2001, 

with periods of higher activity, or surges. For example, as shown in 

figure 1, the average number of days in September 2001 that AMC C-5 

co-pilots were deployed was 9. Since then, the average number of days by 

month that C-5 co-pilots were deployed has fluctuated between 12 and 19. 

Prior to September 2001, available data shows a low monthly average of 

5 days in January 2001. 

Aircrews More Concerned 

about Unpredictability 

of Their Deployments 

Than Compensation 
Page 9 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

Figure 1: Average Number of Days C-5 Co-Pilots Have Been Deployed, January 2001 through December 2003 

Note: This data represents the average number of days C-5 co-pilots have been deployed. According 

to AMC, the deployment trends for co-pilots are representative of other C-5 aircrew members 

deployment activity. 

While the average number of days deployed has fluctuated, aircrew 

members expressed concern about the intermittent suspension of pre- and 

post-mission crew rest periods that have coincided with increased 

operations. Generally, these periods have been intended to ensure that 

aircrew members have enough rest prior to flying another mission. 

However, aircrew members noted that crew rest periods also allow them 

to perform other assigned duties and spend time with their families. 

During our discussion-group meetings, aircrew members indicated that the 

rest period after a mission had been reduced from as much as 4 days to as 

little as 12 hours due to operational needs. 

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Jan.Feb.Mar.Apr.

MayJulyAug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.Jan.Feb.

 Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Jan.Feb.Mar.Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

June

Dec.

Average number of days deployed

2001 2002

Source: Air Mobility Command.

2003
Page 10 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

In addition to basic compensation, DOD has several special pays and 

allowances available to further compensate servicemembers deployed for 

less than 30 days. Servicemembers who are deployed domestically or 

overseas for less than 30 days may be eligible to receive regular per diem. 

The per diem amount varies depending upon location. Servicemembers 

also may be eligible to receive other pays and allowances, such as 

hazardous duty pay, mission-oriented hardship duty pay, and combat-zone 

tax exclusions. However, DOD has not implemented one special allowance 

designed, in part, to compensate those frequently deployed for short 

periods. Congress supported DOD’s legislative proposal to authorize a 

monthly high-deployment allowance with passage of the National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004. This provision allows the services 

to compensate their members for lengthy deployments as well as frequent 

shorter deployments. However, DOD has not set a timetable for 

establishing criteria to implement this allowance. 

In addition to basic military pay, servicemembers who are deployed for 

less than 30 days may also be eligible to receive regular per diem, other 

special pays and allowances, and tax exclusions (see table 1). 

Personnel Deployed 

Less Than 30 Days 

May Be Eligible to 

Receive Additional 

Compensation 

Additional Compensation 

Available for Eligible 

Personnel Deployed 

Less Than 30 Days 
Page 11 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

Table 1: Special Pays and Allowances Available for Short-Term Deployments as of June 2004 

Type of special pay or 

allowance Purpose Qualification requirements Amount 

Per diem To reimburse servicemembers 

for lodging, meal, and incidental 

expenses incurred while on 

government travel 

Must perform temporary duty of more than 

12 hours at a location to receive any of the per 

diem rates for that location 

Varies by location 

Hostile fire and imminent 

danger pay 

To recognize members subject to 

hostile fire or explosion of hostile 

mine, or service in designated 

imminent danger area 

Must be subject to event of hostile 

fire/explosion of hostile mine, or must perform 

official duty in designated imminent danger 

area (e.g., Iraq) 

$225/montha

Mission-oriented 

hardship duty pay 

To compensate a 

servicemembers’ performance of 

a designated hardship mission 

Must perform a designated hardship mission 

(e.g., remains recovery in remote area of 

Vietnam) 

$150/month 

Combat-zone tax 

exclusion 

To recognize members while in a 

combat zone or a qualified 

hazardous duty area. 

Must perform official duty in a designated 

combat area (e.g., Persian Gulf) 

One month tax 

exclusion; amount 

varies based on 

taxable military pay 

Source: GAO 

Note: Table does not include selected reenlistment bonuses or career incentive pays, such as aviator 

continuation pay. 

a The amount of hostile fire and imminent danger pay last changed in 1990 from $110 to $150 per 

month. The fiscal year 2003 Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act temporarily 

increased the monthly rate of this pay from $150 to $225 per month. This increase has been 

extended through December 31, 2004. However, if Congress takes no further action, this rate will 

revert to $150 per month on January 1, 2005. 

When servicemembers are performing temporary duty away from their 

permanent duty station, they are entitled to per diem, which provides 

reimbursement for meals, incidental expenses, and lodging.4 To be eligible 

for per diem, servicemembers must perform temporary duty for more than 

12 hours at a location to receive any of the per diem rate for that location. 

The per diem rates are established by: the General Services 

Administration, the State Department, and DOD’s Per Diem, Travel, and 

Transportation Allowance Committee. The rates range from $86 to $284 

per day within the continental United States and from $20 to $533 per day 

when outside the continental United States, depending on whether 

government meals and lodging are provided. Aircrews can earn various 

per diem rates during the course of their travel. For example, a typical 

two-week mission for Travis C-5 aircrew members would take them to 

Dover Air Force Base, then to Moron, Spain, and then to Baghdad, Iraq. At 

 4

 37 U.S.C. § 404 and § 405 

Per Diem 
Page 12 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

each of these locations, the aircrews can spend a night allowing them to 

accrue applicable per diem rates for that location. According to the Air 

Force, per diem rates for a typical C-5 mission are as follows: $157 for 

Dover Air Force Base; $235 for Moron, Spain; and $154 for Baghdad, Iraq. 

In some cases, aircrews may receive a standard $3.50 per day for 

incidental expenses, when they are at locations where the government can 

provide meals and lodging. This is the standard per diem rate used to 

compensate servicemembers traveling outside of the continental United 

States when the government can provide lodging and meals. 

Hostile Fire and Imminent Danger Pay are pays that provide additional 

compensation for duty performed in designated areas where the 

servicemembers are subject to hostile fire or imminent danger.5

 Both pays 

are derived from the same statue and cannot be collected simultaneously. 

Servicemembers are entitled to hostile fire pay, an event-based pay, if they 

are (1) subjected to hostile fire or explosion of hostile mines; (2) on duty 

in an area close to a hostile fire incident and in danger of being exposed to 

the same dangers actually experienced by other servicemembers subjected 

to hostile fire or explosion of hostile mines; or (3) killed, injured, or 

wounded by hostile fire, explosion of a hostile mine, or any other hostile 

action. Imminent danger pay is a threat based pay intended to compensate 

servicemembers in specifically designated locations, which pose a threat 

of physical harm or imminent danger due to civil insurrection, civil war, 

terrorism, or wartime conditions. To be eligible for this pay in a month, 

servicemembers must have served some time, one day or less, in one of 

the designated zones during the month. The authorized amount for hostile 

fire and imminent danger pay is $150 per month, although the fiscal year 

2003 Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act temporarily 

increased the amount to $225 per month. If Congress takes no further 

action, the rate will revert to $150 per month in January 2005. 

Mission-oriented hardship duty pay compensates military personnel for 

duties designated by the Secretary of Defense as hardship duty due to the 

arduousness of the mission.6

 Mission-oriented hardship duty pay is payable 

 5

 37 U.S.C. § 310 

6

 37 U.S.C. § 305 authorizes special pay for uniformed servicemembers performing hardship 

duty and directs the Secretary of Defense to prescribe regulations implementing hardship 

duty pay. There are two types of hardship duty pay—hardship duty pay for mission 

assignment and hardship duty pay for location assignment. Hardship duty pay for location 

assignment is payable to members for duty in a designated hardship location for more than 

30 consecutive days. Personnel must be in a designated hardship location at least 31 days 

to qualify for this pay. 

Hostile Fire and Imminent 

Danger Pay 

Mission-Oriented Hardship 

Duty Pay 
Page 13 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

at a monthly rate up to $300, without prorating or reduction, when the 

member performs the specified mission during any part of the month. 

DOD has established that this pay be paid at a flat monthly rate of $150 per 

month. Active and Reserve component members who qualify, at any time 

during the month, receive the full monthly mission-oriented hardship duty 

pay, regardless of the period of time on active duty or the number of days 

they receive basic pay during the month. This pay is currently only 

available to servicemembers assigned to, on temporary duty with, or 

otherwise under the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, 

the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting, or Central Identification 

Lab-Hawaii. Hardship duty includes missions such as locating and 

recovering the remains of U.S. servicemembers from remote, isolated 

areas including, but not limited to, areas in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and 

North Korea. 

The combat-zone tax exclusion provides exclusion from federal income 

tax, as well as income tax in many states, to servicemembers serving in a 

presidentially designated combat zone or in a statutorily established 

hazardous duty area for any period of time.7

 For example, although the C-5 

aircrews at Travis and Dover Air Force Bases do not serve in a designated 

combat zone for an extended period of time, many of the missions that 

they fly may be within areas designated for combat-zone tax exclusion 

eligibility. Enlisted personnel and warrant officers may exclude all military 

compensation earned in the month in which they perform active military 

service in a combat-zone or qualified hazardous duty area for active 

military service from federal income tax. For commissioned officers, 

compensation is free of federal income tax up to the maximum amount of 

enlisted basic pay plus any imminent danger pay received.8

DOD has not established criteria defining what constitutes frequent 

deployments, nor has it determined eligibility requirements in order to 

implement the high deployment allowance. DOD sought significant 

modifications to high deployment compensation through a legislative 

proposal to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004. 

Congress had established a high deployment per diem as part of the 

 7

 26 U.S.C. § 112 

8

 In 2004, the maximum amount of compensation for commissioned officers that is eligible 

for combat zone tax exclusion is $6,091 plus $225 (imminent danger pay), or $6,316 per 

month. 

Combat-Zone Tax Exclusion 

DOD Has Not Developed 

Criteria to Implement 

the High Deployment 

Allowance 
Page 14 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000.9 Pursuant to 

statutorily granted authority, on October 8, 2001, DOD waived application 

of the high deployment compensation in light of the ongoing military 

response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. After 

implementing the waiver authority, DOD sought legislative changes to the 

high deployment compensation in an effort to better manage deployments. 

DOD’s proposal sought, among other things, to: (1) change highdeployment compensation from a per diem rate to a monthly allowance, 

(2) reduce the dollar amount paid so that it was more in line with other 

special pays (e.g. hostile fire pay), and (3) allow DOD to recognize lengthy 

deployments as well as frequent deployments. The National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 reflects many of DOD’s proposed 

changes. The act changed the $100 per diem payment into an allowance 

not to exceed $1,000 per month. To help compensate those 

servicemembers who are frequently deployed, the act established a 

cumulative 2-year eligibility threshold not to exceed 401 days. Also, the act 

provided the Secretary of Defense with the authority to prescribe a 

cumulative threshold lower than 401 days.10 Depending upon where the 

Secretary of Defense establishes the cumulative threshold, 

servicemembers, such as the C-5 aircrews, serving multiple short-term 

deployments may be compensated through the high deployment 

allowance. Once a servicemembers’ deployments exceed the established 

cumulative day threshold for the number of days deployed, the member is 

to be paid a monthly allowance not to exceed $1,000 per month at the 

beginning of the following month. From that point forward, the 

servicemember will continue to qualify for the allowance as long as the 

total number of days deployed during the previous 2-year period exceeds 

the cumulative threshold established by the Secretary of Defense. The high 

deployment allowance is in addition to per diem and any other special 

pays and allowances for which the servicemember might qualify. 

Moreover, the servicemember does not have to apply for the allowance, as 

the act mandated that DOD track and monitor days deployed and make 

payment accordingly. Finally, DOD may exclude specified duty 

assignments from eligibility for the high deployment allowance (e.g., 

sports teams or senior officers). According to DOD officials, this provision 

 9

 37 U.S.C § 436 

10 The act also established a maximum 191-day consecutive day deployment threshold. 

The Secretary of Defense was given the authority to prescribe a lower consecutive 

day threshold. 
Page 15 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

also provides additional flexibility in targeting the allowance to selected 

occupational specialties, by allowing DOD to exclude all occupations 

except those that it wishes to target for additional compensation because 

of retention concerns. The Senate report accompanying the bill that 

amended the high deployment provision encouraged DOD to promptly 

implement these changes.11 However, DOD officials told us that a timetable 

for establishing the criteria necessary to implement the high deployment 

allowance has not been set. Although we could not ascertain exactly why 

DOD had not taken action to implement the high deployment allowance, 

OSD officials informed us that the services had difficulty reaching 

agreement on what constitutes a deployment for purposes of the high 

deployment payment. 

The family separation allowance is directed at enlisted servicemembers 

and officers whose dependents incur extra expenses when the 

servicemember is deployed for more than 30 consecutive days. We found 

no reason to question the eligibility requirements that have been 

established for DOD’s family separation allowance. We believe that no 

basis exists to change the 30-day threshold, as a problem has not been 

identified with the family separation allowance. Further, servicemembers 

who deploy for less than 30 days may be eligible to receive additional 

forms of compensation resulting from their deployment, such as per diem, 

other special pays and allowances, and tax exclusions. 

Since the terrorists’ attacks on September 11, 2001, some servicemembers 

have experienced more short-term deployments. Given the long-term 

nature of the global war on terrorism, this increase in the frequency of 

short-term deployments is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. 

DOD will need to assure adequate compensation for servicemembers 

using all available special pays and allowances in addition to basic pay. 

While the aircrews with whom we met did not express specific concerns 

about compensation, they, like other servicemembers, are concerned 

about quality-of-life issues. The high deployment allowance could help to 

address such issues for servicemembers, while helping to mitigate DOD’s 

possible long-term retention concerns. Also, unlike the family separation 

allowance, the high deployment allowance could be used to compensate 

servicemembers regardless of whether or not they have dependents. 

Although the Senate report accompanying the bill that amended the high 

 11 S. Rept. 108-46 

Conclusions 
Page 16 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

deployment provision encouraged DOD to promptly implement these 

changes, the Secretary of Defense has not taken action to implement the 

high deployment allowance. 

We recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct the Deputy 

Undersecretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), in concert with the 

Service Secretaries and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, to take the 

following three actions 

• set a timetable for establishing criteria to implement the high deployment 

allowance; 

• define, as part of the criteria, what constitutes frequent short-term 

deployments within the context of the cumulative day requirement as 

stated in the high deployment allowance legislation; and 

• determine, as part of the criteria, eligibility requirements targeting the high 

deployment allowance to selected occupational specialties. 

In written comments on a draft of this report, DOD partially concurred 

with our recommendations that it set a timetable for establishing criteria 

to implement the high deployment allowance and what the criteria should 

include. While DOD agreed that servicemembers should be recognized 

with additional pay for excessive deployments, it stated that DOD has not 

implemented the high deployment allowance because it views the high 

deployment allowance as a peacetime authority. Further, DOD stated that 

since we are in a wartime posture, it is more difficult to control the pace of 

deployments than during peacetime. DOD’s response noted that it has 

elected to exercise the waiver given to it by Congress to suspend the 

entitlement for reasons of national security. DOD also noted that it has 

encouraged the use of other flexible pay authorities to compensate 

servicemembers who are away from home for inordinate periods. Finally, 

DOD stated that it would reassess the use of the high deployment 

allowance at some point in the future. 

We do not believe that the nation’s current wartime situation prevents 

DOD from taking our recommended actions. The first recommended 

action being to set a timetable for establishing criteria to implement the 

high deployment allowance. We did recognize in our report that pursuant 

to statutorily granted authority, on October 8, 2001, DOD waived 

application of the high deployment allowance in light of the ongoing 

military response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. However, 

since then, DOD sought modifications through a legislative proposal to the 

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 for more 

Recommendations 

Agency Comments 

and Our Evaluation 
Page 17 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

flexibilities to manage the high deployment compensation better. These 

additional flexibilities include providing DOD with the opportunity to 

tailor the allowance to meet current or expected needs. Since the purpose 

of special pays and allowances is primarily to help retain more 

servicemembers, the high deployment allowance could be used as another 

compensation tool to help retain servicemembers during a time of war. As 

our report clearly states, given the expectations for a long-term 

commitment to the war on terrorism, developing the criteria for 

implementing the high deployment allowance would provide DOD with an 

additional option for compensating those military personnel who are 

frequently deployed for short periods of time. Regarding DOD’s use of 

other flexible pay authorities to compensate servicemembers who are 

away from home for inordinate periods, the examples DOD cites for 

lengthy or protracted deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea are not 

applicable to those servicemembers deployed for less than 30 days, the 

focus of this review. 

Finally, the vagueness of when and how the high deployment allowance 

will be implemented runs contrary to the congressional direction, which 

encouraged DOD to promptly implement the new high deployment 

allowance authority. Based on DOD’s response, it is not clear when DOD 

intends to develop criteria to implement the high deployment allowance. 

We recommended that DOD set a timetable for establishing criteria to 

implement the high deployment allowance, not that DOD implement the 

allowance immediately. We believe that this recommendation is 

warranted, since establishing the criteria will make it possible for DOD to 

implement the high deployment allowance quickly, whenever it is deemed 

appropriate and necessary. DOD’s comments are reprinted in their entirety 

in appendix I. DOD also provided technical comments, which we have 

incorporated as appropriate. 

To assess the rationale for family separation allowance eligibility 

requirements, including the rationale for the 30-day threshold, we 

reviewed the legislative history concerning the family separation 

allowance and analyzed DOD policies implementing this pay. We also 

interviewed officials in the offices of the Under Secretary of Defense 

(Personnel and Readiness); the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air 

Force; the Commandant of the Marine Corps; the Air National Guard; and 

the Air Force Reserve. 

To determine the extent to which DOD had identified frequent short-term 

deployments as a family separation allowance issue, we reviewed 

Scope and 

Methodology 
Page 18 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

proposals submitted through DOD’s Unified Legislation and Budgeting 

process. We met with compensation representatives from the Office of the 

Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) and each of the 

services. We interviewed officials with the Defense Manpower Data Center 

and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. We sought to use DOD’s 

database for tracking and monitoring deployments to determine the extent 

of servicemembers experiencing frequent deployments lasting less than 

30 days. We were not able to use the database for the purposes of our 

report to discern the number of deployments by location lasting less than 

30 days, since more than 40 percent of the data for location was not 

included in the database. In addition, the database did not contain 

information related to some types of non-deployment activities (e.g. 

training), which we deemed important to our review. We focused our 

study on the Air Force since the fiscal year 2003 Secretary of Defense 

Annual Report to the President and Congress showed that the Air force 

was the only service whose members were deployed less than 30 days on 

average in fiscal year 2002. Further, through discussions with Air Force 

officials we identified strategic aircrews managed by the AMC as examples 

of those who would most likely be experiencing short-term deployments. 

We visited AMC, where we met with officials from personnel, operations, 

finance, and the tactical airlift command center. To understand the views 

of one group of short-term deployers, we visited Travis Air Force Base in 

California where we met with officer and enlisted leadership for the C-5 

and KC-10 aircraft. We held discussion groups with 12 officers and 

12 enlisted aircrew members from both aircraft, for a total of 48 aircrew 

members. We visited Dover Air Force Base in Delaware where we met 

with C-5 officer and enlisted leadership. We also met with officials 

representing personnel, operations, and finance offices at both Travis and 

Dover Air Force Bases. We assessed the reliability of AMC C-5 copilot 

deployment data, as well as data contained in the fiscal year 2003 

Secretary of Defense Annual Report to the President and Congress. GAO’s 

assessment consisted of (1) reviewing existing information about the data 

and the systems that produced them, (2) examining the electronic data for 

completeness, and (3) interviewing agency officials knowledgeable about 

the data. We determined that the data were sufficiently reliable for the 

purposes of this report. 

To assess what special pays and allowances are available, in addition to 

basic compensation, to further compensate servicemembers deployed for 

less than 30 days, we identified special pays and allowances that do not 

have a time eligibility factor through the DOD’s Military Compensation 

Background Papers, legislative research, and discussions with 

OSD officials. We reviewed the legislative history regarding recent 
Page 19 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

legislative changes to special pays and allowances and how DOD has 

implemented these changes. 

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Defense; the Under 

Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness); the Secretaries of the 

Army, the Air Force, and the Navy; the Commandant of the Marine Corps; 

and the Director, Office of Management and Budget. We will also make 

copies available to appropriate congressional committees and to other 

interested parties on request. In addition, the report will be available at no 

charge at the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staff have any questions concerning this report, please 

call me at (202) 512-5559 or Brenda S. Farrell at (202) 512-3604. Major 

contributors to this report were Aaron M. Adams, Kurt A. Burgeson, 

Ann M. Dubois, Kenya R. Jones, and Ronald La Due Lake. 

Derek B. Stewart 

Director, Defense Capabilities and Management 
Page 20 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

List of Committees 

The Honorable John W. Warner 

Chairman 

The Honorable Carl Levin 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Armed Services 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Duncan L. Hunter 

Chairman 

The Honorable Ike Skelton 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Armed Services 

House of Representatives 

The Honorable Saxby Chambliss 

Chairman 

The Honorable E. Benjamin Nelson 

Ranking Minority Member 

Subcommittee on Personnel 

Committee on Armed Services 

United States Senate 

The Honorable John M. McHugh 

Chairman 

The Honorable Vic Snyder 

Ranking Minority Member 

Subcommittee on Total Force 

Committee on Armed Services 

House of Representatives
Appendix I: Comments from the Department of Defense 

Page 21 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

Appendix I: Comments from the Department 

of Defense 

Note: A GAO comment 

supplementing those in 

the report text appears at 

the end of this appendix. 

See comment 1. 
Appendix I: Comments from the Department of Defense 

Page 22 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

See comment 1. 

See comment 1. 
Appendix I: Comments from the Department of Defense 

Page 23 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

Note: Page numbers in 

the draft report may differ 

from those in this report. 
Appendix I: Comments from the Department of Defense 

Page 24 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 
Appendix I: Comments from the Department 

of Defense 

Page 25 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

1. The purpose of our congressionally directed review was to assess the 

special pays and allowances available to DOD that could be used to 

compensate servicemembers who are frequently deployed for less than 

30 days. Consequently, our scope did not include an assessment of 

compensation for servicemembers serving lengthy, or protracted, 

deployments of 30 days or more. We found that DOD has available and 

is using several special pays and allowances, in addition to basic 

compensation, to further compensate servicemembers deployed for 

less than 30 days. However, we also found that DOD has one special 

allowance, the high deployment allowance, that is not available to 

provide further compensation to servicemembers who frequently 

deploy for less than 30 days and that DOD has not set a timetable to 

establish criteria to implement the allowance. During our review, we 

could not ascertain exactly why DOD had not taken action to develop 

criteria for implementing the high deployment allowance. During 

several discussions, OSD officials stated that the services had difficulty 

reaching agreement on what constitutes a deployment for the purposes 

of the high deployment payment. DOD’s response to our draft report 

noted that it has elected to exercise the waiver given to it by Congress 

to suspend the high deployment allowance for reasons of national 

security. We recognized this waiver in our report. We also noted that 

after DOD waived application of the high deployment payment on 

October 8, 2001, DOD sought legislative modifications of the high 

deployment payment that would give it more flexibilities to better 

manage this type of compensation. Congress granted DOD these 

flexibilities and encouraged DOD to promptly implement these 

changes. As noted in our report, given the expectations for a long-term 

commitment to the war on terrorism, developing the criteria for 

implementing the new high deployment allowance would provide DOD 

with an additional option for compensating those military personnel 

who are frequently deployed for short periods of time. Also, the high 

deployment allowance, unlike the family separation allowance, could 

be used to compensate servicemembers regardless of whether or not 

they have dependents and thus would reach more servicemembers. 

GAO’s Comment 
Related GAO Products 

Page 26 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

Military Personnel: Active Duty Compensation and Its Tax Treatment. 

GAO-04-721R. Washington, D.C.: May 7, 2004. 

Military Personnel: Observations Related to Reserve Compensation, 

Selective Reenlistment Bonuses, and Mail Delivery to Deployed Troops. 

GAO-04-582T. Washington, D.C.: March 24, 2004. 

Military Personnel: Bankruptcy Filings among Active Duty Service 

Members. GAO-04-465R. Washington, D.C.: February 27, 2004. 

Military Pay: Army National Guard Personnel Mobilized to Active Duty 

Experienced Significant Pay Problems. GAO-04-89. Washington, D.C.: 

November 13, 2003. 

Military Personnel: DOD Needs More Effective Controls to Better Assess 

the Progress of the Selective Reenlistment Bonus Program. GAO-04-86. 

Washington, D.C.: November 13, 2003. 

Military Personnel: DFAS Has Not Met All Information Technology 

Requirements for Its New Pay System. GAO-04-149R. Washington, D.C.: 

October 20, 2003. 

Military Personnel: DOD Needs More Data to Address Financial and 

Health Care Issues Affecting Reservists. GAO-03-1004. Washington, D.C.: 

September 10, 2003. 

Military Personnel: DOD Needs to Assess Certain Factors in 

Determining Whether Hazardous Duty Pay Is Warranted for Duty in the 

Polar Regions. GAO-03-554. Washington, D.C.: April 29, 2003. 

Military Personnel: Preliminary Observations Related to Income, 

Benefits, and Employer Support for Reservists During Mobilizations. 

GAO-03-573T. Washington, D.C.: March 19, 2003. 

Military Personnel: Oversight Process Needed to Help 

Maintain Momentum of DOD’s Strategic Human Capital 

Planning. GAO-03-237. Washington, D.C.: December 5, 2002. 

Military Personnel: Management and Oversight of 

Selective Reenlistment Bonus Program Needs Improvement. GAO-03-149. 

Washington, D.C.: November 25, 2002. 

Related GAO Products 
Related GAO Products 

Page 27 GAO-04-805 Military Personnel 

Military Personnel: Active Duty Benefits Reflect Changing 

Demographics, but Opportunities Exist to Improve. GAO-02-935. 

Washington, D.C.: September 18, 2002. 

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