Hardship duty pay is additional compensation paid to service membersassigned to locations where living conditions are substantially belowthose conditions in the continental U.S. (CONUS).
Military Hardship Duty Pay-Location
HDP-L is compensation paid to members assigned outside thecontinental United States in Quality of Life (QoL) Hardship locations --Locations where QoL living conditions are substantially below thestandard most members in the continental United States would generallyexperience. HDP-L is intended to recognize the extraordinary arduousliving conditions, excessive physical hardship, and/or unhealthfulconditions that exist in a location or assignment. Rates are payable inincrements of $50, $100, or $150 a month based on the level of QoLhardship in a given area.
Specifics
- All members serving on PCS in a designated area, or serving in a temporary duty or deployed status for over 30 consecutive days in the area will receive HDP-L
- Members on permanent reassignment to the area will be eligible from the day of arrival
- Members TDY to the area are not eligible during the first 30 days of consecutive service at the designated location. On the 31st day, HDP-L will be payable retroactive to the date of reporting
- Entitlement to HDP-L continues through the date of departure on PCS
For specific conditions of this entitlement, including a list of current and past locations, view the DOD Financial Management Regulation.
Military Hardship Duty Pay-Mission
HDP-M is payable to members both officer and enlisted, for performingdesignated hardship missions. HDP-M is payable at the full monthly rateduring any part of which, the member performs a specified mission. Amember assigned to, on temporary duty with or otherwise under theoperational control of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing PersonnelOffice (DPMO), the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA), or theCentral Identification Lab-Hawaii (CIL-HI) may qualify for HDP-M basedon performance of a hardship mission members so assigned are entitledfor each month in which they perform investigative or remains recoveryin a remote, isolated area (including, but not limited to, areas inLaos, Cambodia, Vietnam and North Korea) for recovery of U.S. servicemember remains.
Military Hardship Duty Pay-Tempo
The Secretaries of the Military Departments may establish HDP-Tprograms under the authority of 37 USC 305. A mobilization ordeployment tempo that requires the member to perform duties in anoperational environment for periods that exceed rotation norms may bedesignated as hardship duty for the purposes of paying HDP-T. TheMilitary Departments have not yet implemented HDP-T programs.
