US Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-CA) has proposed increasing the amount of special military pays, most of which are directly related to combat deployments.  When US military members are deployed to combat areas, they receive several financial considerations:

• Their military pay earned in the AOR is exempt from income taxes
• They may be entitled to hostile fire pay, imminent danger pay, hazardous duty pay, and a family separation allowance.

Rep. McNerney’s proposal would make the following increases: 

• Hostile fire pay: From $225 to $600 a month.
• Imminent danger pay: From $225 to $350 a month.
• Family separation allowance: From $250 to $450 a month.
• Hazardous duty pay: From $150-$450 to $200-$500 a month.

As a general rule (though not an exclusive truth), military members would generally prefer to be home with their families rather than earning extra money in combat.  So while the higher pay will be appreciated, it is not the reason that military members serve.

There have also been some notable abuses of the special exemptions; for example, there are stories of some rear-detachment troops “forward deploying” on the last day of the month and returning home on the first day of the next month, which secures two tax-free months of pay for the cost of an overnight stay in the AOR.  Though such abuses have been known to occur, they are the exception rather than the rule.  (A separate policy change once proposed pro-rating tax exemptions based on actual time in theatre, rather than on full months.  However, that policy has not been instituted.)

On a somewhat related note, President Obama is reportedly requesting a 1.4% pay raise in the 2011 defense budget.  While that is reported as being the “smallest annual increase” since the end of the draft, it matches the policy of connecting the pay raise with a government index related to wages and cost of living increases.

These special pays, including the “combat zone tax exclusion,” are included in the publicly available military pay scales.