Pentagon Removes Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden, More from Danger Pay

By Bridget Johnson 7:47 AM on January 07, 2014

The Pentagon recently decided that some regions don’t warrant imminent danger pay anymore.

Effective June 1, the land areas East Timor, Haiti, Liberia, Oman, Rwanda, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will no longer be classified as imminent danger areas for purposes of extra pay.

Also removed from the list are the land and airspace areas of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro.

The decision also removes these bodies of water from IDP: the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea.

Also nixed is the water area and air space above the Persian Gulf.

IDP will remain in effect for Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, and Egypt within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, the Defense Department said.

“A periodic review and recertification was conducted for Imminent Danger Pay (IDP) purposes and was made in coordination with the joint staff, combatant commands and military services. The combatant commands conducted in-depth threat assessments for countries within their areas of responsibility,” the Pentagon said.

“Following the Defense Department’s review, it was determined that 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.”