Sailors participate in a replenishment-at-sea aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington on Sept. 23, 2026. George Washington is currently deployed to the Middle East. (U.S. Navy)
Pentagon officials have approved a rare increase in special combat pay for all of the Defense Department’s troops serving in certain dangerous areas.
The Pentagon doubled its hostile fire pay rate from $225 per month to $450 per month and boosted its monthly cap for imminent danger pay from $225 per month to $275, according to a memorandum issued by Tim Dill, the Pentagon’s assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs. The changes became effective Thursday.
“Those who face combat deserve higher compensation that reflects the risks that they willingly undertake on behalf of our nation,” said Anthony J. Tata, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. “Raising imminent danger and hostile fire pays for the first time in two decades is a step toward recognizing that sacrifice.”
Dill’s memo was dated July 1, but the Pentagon first publicized the change Thursday.
The Marine Corps announced the same rate hikes for Marines last week. The new rates now also apply to soldiers, airmen, sailors and guardians.
It marks the first increase in special combat pay rates since 2002.
Hostile fire pay applies to troops serving in an area where commanders have certified a hostile incident — such as an attack or explosion — has occurred or a service member has been killed or injured by enemy action. Troops will be paid the full $450 per month when a commander authorizes hostile fire pay for that time frame.
Imminent danger pay is authorized for troops serving in countries or regions where the Pentagon has determined they likely face the “threat of physical harm or imminent danger based on civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism or wartime conditions.” Imminent danger pay will now be paid at a rate of $9.16 — up from $7.50 — for each day a service member is located in a designated location, up to $275 per month.
Troops cannot receive both hostile fire pay and imminent danger pay in the same month.
The Pentagon currently recognizes 58 locations as eligible for imminent danger pay, according to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Eighteen have been added since the United States began Operation Epic Fury targeting Iran in February.
They include those serving in the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey and Diego Garcia, among others. Other locations, such as Iraq — where U.S. troops ended their yearslong mission this week — Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and Ukraine have been designated imminent danger zones for years.
“If an [imminent danger pay]-designated area escalates into active combat, commanders can transition personnel from [imminent danger pay] to [hostile fire pay] immediately,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, said in a statement. “This provides a clear and timely mechanism to acknowledge heightened risk levels.”