U.S. Soldiers In Niger, Mali, And Cameroon Will Now Get Danger Pay

A U.S. Army Special Forces weapons sergeant inspects a Nigerien service member’s weapon prior to entering a range as part of Flintlock 2017 in Diffa, Niger, Feb. 25, 2017. (Spc. Zayid Ballesteros/Army)

Military Times: DoD approves danger pay for Niger, Mali, Cameroon

Service members deployed to Niger, Mali and northern Cameroon qualify to receive imminent danger pay/hostile fire pay, retroactive to June 7, 2017, Defense Department announced Thursday.

The retroactive date will allow the families of Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, Sgt. La David Johnson and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright to collect an additional $225 a month for the time the soldiers were assigned there. The four soldiers were killed in an October 2017 ambush that is still the subject of an ongoing investigation.

Imminent danger pay is a flat monthly payment of $225 to troops on duty outside the U.S. and subject to physical harm or imminent danger due to wartime conditions, terrorism, civil insurrection or civil war.

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Update #1: U.S. Troops in Niger to Receive Combat Pay, Pentagon Says -- New York Times
Update #2: 5 Months After A Deadly Mission, Troops In Niger Are Finally Getting Danger Pay -- Task & Purpose

WNU editor: A belated acknowledgement that these countries are conflict zones

This Is How Much U.S. Troops Were Paid In Every War

US Army Pfc. Jacob Paxson and Pfc. Antonio Espiricueta, both from Company B ("Death Dealers"), 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, attached to Task Force 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, on a foot patrol in Tameem, Ramadi, Iraq. Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock/US Air Force

Business Insider/We Are The Mighty: Here's how much US troops were paid in every American war

Think it's hard making it month to month in the barracks on just an E-1 pay? Well, the recruits who won America's earlier wars had to make ends meet with much, much less to draw on.

See how much troops made in each conflict, both in their own currency and adjusted for inflation:

Author's note: The pay structure changed over time. From the Korean War to today, military pay has been relatively consistent across the services and the numbers listed in entries 8-11 reflect the financial realities of an E-1 enlisted servicemember. For earlier conflicts, pay was calculated using the salary of a first-year Army private or a junior infantryman.

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WNU Editor: It is obvious that in some of these conflicts .... people did not join for the money.

The Pentagon Is Cutting Danger Pay

Pentagon Cuts By Third Places Where U.S. Troops Get Danger Pay -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Friday it had cut by about a third the list of places where U.S. troops get imminent danger pay, dropping locations like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf in a move expected to reduce costs by about $100 million a year.

"The imminent threat of physical harm to U.S. military personnel due to civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism, or wartime conditions has been significantly reduced in many countries. As a result, IDP will be discontinued in those areas," the Pentagon said in a statement.

Among the more than 20 locales dropped from the new list, which takes effect June 1, is Bahrain, headquarters to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, plus the waterways of the neighboring Gulf, Arabian Sea and Red Sea, where the Navy regularly deploys its ships.

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More News On The Pentagon Cutting Danger Pay

Pentagon Announces Upcoming Changes to Imminent Danger Pay -- US Department of Defense
DOD announces changes to imminent danger pay -- Stars and Stripes
Pentagon Cuts Down on Danger Pay -- Military.com
No more imminent danger pay for 20 areas -- Marine Times
Pentagon Trims Postings Eligible for Danger Pay -- Wall Street Journal
Military opts to cut "danger pay" for some deployments -- Virginia-Pilot