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Special Duty Assignment Pay Changes for Some Soldiers

By David Vergun
Army News Service

December 6, 2013

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Recruits and recruiters out of San Gabriel Recruiting Company in San Gabriel Valley, Calif.

Recruits and recruiters out of San Gabriel Recruiting Company in San Gabriel Valley, Calif., march in the 54th Annual City of Torrance Armed Forces Day Celebration and Parade May 18, 2013, in Torrance, Calif. Special Duty Assignment Pay will decrease for NCOs assigned to the recruiting force, under changes recently announced. (Photo by Sgt. Crystal L. Milton/Army News Service)

WASHINGTON — Some Soldiers receiving special duty assignment pay, or SDAP, are now seeing an increase in payments or seeing it for the first time, while others will soon see less.

About 4,000 fewer Soldiers will be eligible for SDAP under changes announced in an All Army Activities message,  ALARACT 308, dated Nov. 21, 2013.  However, about 27,000 Soldiers will still receive the special pay, according to Army G-1 officials.

“As the Army moves into a more resource-constrained environment, we must fully evaluate each of our compensation programs by weighing total costs and benefits of the current programs,” explained Sgt. Maj. Allen Clifton, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1.

“The Army regards SDAP as a valuable tool to encourage Soldiers to volunteer to perform extremely demanding duties or duties demanding an unusual degree of responsibility,” Clifton added. “The decision to restructure SDAP was not taken lightly and we spent significant time evaluating all relevant factors with the understanding that our final decision would affect Soldiers and their families.”

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