WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- More than 10 years after the United States led peacekeepers into Bosnia-Herzegovina, it is no longer a combat zone, according to new Pentagon pay rules.
Neither is Angola, Georgia, Sierra Leone, Croatia, and Macedonia. U.S. troops serving in those countries are no longer eligible for the $225 a month in imminent danger pay.
"Periodically, the Department of Defense conducts world-wide reviews to determine whether a continued imminent danger area designation is appropriate. Imminent danger pay is compensation paid at the rate of $225 a month to recognize duty in a foreign area in which the member was subject to the threat of physical harm or imminent danger on the basis of civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism, or wartime conditions," the Defense Department announced Friday.
However, troops in those countries will get minor increases in hardship pay, a stipend to recognize "areas where quality of life is substantially below that most members in the U.S. generally experience. Factors considered include physical environment, living conditions, and personal security."
American servicemembers deployed to Angola, Georgia, and Sierra Leone will see their hardship pay increased from $100 to $150 a month. Those in Macedonia will be increased from increased from $0 to $100 a month.
All of the above changes will take effect Nov. 1, 2007.
