The National Science Foundation conducts scientific research in the polar regions of Antarctica and Greenland and funds and manages the U.S. Antarctic Program. This program sends nearly 3,000 scientists and support personnel to Antarctica each year to support scientific research in areas such as astrophysics, atmospheric chemistry, biology, earth sciences, ocean and climate systems, and glaciology. The National Science Foundation also chairs an interagency committee to coordinate the scientific research efforts of all federal agencies in the Arctic region, including Greenland. The 109th Airlift Wing is the main provider of air logistic support for National Science Foundation activities in Antarctica. The unit also supports the activities of the National Science Foundation and other agencies in Greenland. Members of the 109th Airlift Wing train on and operate unique LC-130 ski-equipped aircraft that take off and land on snow and ice (see fig. 1). The unit operates 10 LC-130 aircraft. The 109th Airlift Wing supports U.S. Antarctic Program mission requirements from mid-October to the end of February each year. It employs 220 full-time Active Guard and Reserve members whose principal task is to support this program. It receives additional support from “traditional” guardsmen, other Active Guard and Reserve members, and military technicians of the 109th Airlift Wing, as well as members from other military units. Operations are conducted from McMurdo Station, the permanent logistics station for U.S. operations in Antarctica. The 109th Airlift Wing schedules between 450 and 500 flights in Antarctica for the 5-month operational season to meet National Science Foundation requirements. According to the 109th Airlift Wing, personnel typically deploy for a period of 1 to 13 weeks, which includes up to 1 week of travel from New York to Antarctica. These deployments are conducted on a rotational basis. The 109th Airlift Wing maintains a presence of approximately 120 personnel (50 operational, 61 logistic, and 9 support) at McMurdo Station from October to the end of February. In Greenland, the 109th Airlift Wing performs training missions for unit personnel who will deploy to Antarctica. The unit also performs scientific support missions for the National Science Foundation as well as for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and European research programs. Unit operations in Greenland run from mid-March to September each year and are conducted from staging locations at Thule Air Base and Kangerlussuaq. Missions are flown to all parts of the Greenland Ice Cap, northern Canadian locations, and Arctic Ocean camps. The 109th conducts 10 to 12 1-week deployments to Greenland. Within OSD, the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) is responsible for DOD personnel policy, including oversight of reserve affairs and military personnel pay and benefits. The Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) leads the Unified Legislation and Budgeting process, which was established in 1994 to develop and review personnel compensation proposals. In addition, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) is conducting the congressionally mandated review of special and incentive pays for reservists performing duty in the polar regions. Hardship duty pay compensates military personnel on duty for more than 30 consecutive days in harsh or difficult living conditions. The Secretary of Defense has the authority to establish implementing regulations for such pay, including the designation of hardship duty locations and rates. Within OSD, the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management Policy) tasked a working group in 1998 to develop hardship duty pay policy. The working group determined that (1) uniformed members who perform duty in designated hardship locations for more than 30 consecutive days are eligible for hardship duty pay and (2) this pay is not intended to compensate for difficult working conditions. According to DOD, personnel assigned to an area for a short period do not endure the same range of physical hardships as those in the area on a long-term basis. According to an OSD official, the working group linked the 30-day hardship duty threshold to family separation allowance, which compensates members who are away from their families for more than 30 consecutive days. We found no basis to disagree with the criteria DOD has established for hardship duty pay. OSD, in its appeal submitted in response to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003, opposed the legislation creating an exception to the 30-day hardship duty threshold for missions to the polar regions on the grounds that it “unnecessarily circumvents a process that has proven to be a fair and equitable means of setting hardship duty pay location rates worldwide.” The Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management Policy) regularly reviews and determines hardship duty locations and rates. In certain instances, the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management Policy) automatically designates hardship duty locations. All installations located on land areas or an ice shelf above 66 degrees 33 minutes north latitude (Arctic region) or below 60 degrees south latitude (Antarctica) are designated as hardship duty locations. For all other locations, unified commanders with regional responsibilities submit a completed Hardship Duty Location Assessment Questionnaire to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management Policy), who reviews these requests twice a year. Monthly pay rates for hardship duty are $50, $100, and $150 and are based on the severity of living conditions. Living conditions are placed into three categories: (1) physical environment, which includes factors such as climate and physical and social isolation; (2) living conditions, including sanitation, disease, medical facilities, housing, food, and recreational and community facilities; and (3) personal security, including political violence, harassment, and crime. Hardship duty performed for more than 30 consecutive days in Antarctica and Greenland qualifies at the $150 monthly rate. Allowing an exception to the 30-day hardship duty threshold for members of the 109th Airlift Wing who deploy to the polar regions would result in minimal additional costs. The National Science Foundation reimburses DOD for 109th Airlift Wing logistic support in the polar regions and would incur most of these additional costs. However, allowing this exception could set a precedent for DOD personnel performing other missions lasting 30 days or less. The costs of granting an exception for short-term missions conducted at other hardship locations are unknown. The 109th Airlift Wing estimated that granting an exception to the 30-day hardship duty threshold for unit members deployed to the polar regions would cost approximately $125,000 to $130,000 a year based on deployment trends in past years. We did not verify the cost data. In fiscal year 2002, for example, the unit had a total of 1,478 deployments to the polar regions, including 690 to Antarctica and 788 to Greenland. Unit members deployed for a total of 15,846 days, including 11,906 days in Antarctica and 3,940 days in Greenland. According to a unit official, approximately 30 unit members deployed for more than 30 consecutive days. The 109th Airlift Wing estimated that if the exception to the 30-day threshold had been in effect in fiscal year 2002, hardship duty pay costs for that year would have increased by about $127,000, including approximately $95,000 for deployments to Antarctica and approximately $32,000 for deployments to Greenland. The National Science Foundation would incur most of these increased costs. It directly reimburses DOD for 109th Airlift Wing logistic support performed in Antarctica, including personnel and training costs above and beyond the unit’s wartime task requirements. The reimbursements from the National Science Foundation include funding for the 220 full-time Active Guard and Reserve members employed for the polar mission and for all flying training hours required for these personnel to maintain their qualifications. The National Science Foundation reported that the total costs in fiscal year 2002 for the unit’s support of Antarctic missions were $22.7 million. For operations in Greenland, the 109th Airlift Wing is reimbursed by its customers, including the National Science Foundation, based on a rate structure established by DOD for each particular mission. For example, the National Science Foundation reimbursed the 109th Airlift Wing about $375,000 in fiscal year 2002 for missions in Greenland. Other military personnel performing short-term assignments in the polar regions would also benefit from an exception to the 30-day hardship duty threshold. For example, the Air Force Reserve’s 445th Airlift Wing and the 452nd Airlift Mobility Wing conduct passenger and cargo flights on C-141 wheeled aircraft between Christchurch, New Zealand, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. An OSD official said information was not readily available on the additional estimated costs of granting the exception for these personnel. According to officials within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), allowing an exception to the 30-day hardship duty threshold would set a precedent for other short-term missions that last 30 consecutive days or less. Of the 170 hardship duty locations, 67 locations (39 percent) qualify at the maximum monthly pay rate of $150. In 2002, DOD refused a request by the Navy for an exception to the 30-day threshold for duty on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. The Navy stated that security personnel who are deployed to the island on a 14-day rotational schedule live in “substandard conditions.” DOD, in turning down the request, stated that “members on a short-term duration tour-of-duty do not endure the range of physical hardships experienced by those who are permanently assigned.” According to an official within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), granting an exception to the 30-day threshold for other short-term missions would result in additional hardship duty pay costs, but these costs are unknown because DOD has not conducted a cost analysis.