Soldiers Set to Get New Deployment Bonus as High Operations Tempos Strain the Army

Soldiers will receive an extra monthly bonus -- ranging from $210 to $450 per month, depending on rank -- for time away from home exceeding 30 days starting in October, according to a draft Army memo reviewed by Military.com. The new benefit includes Army Guardsmen and reservists.

The move would put additional money in overworked soldiers' pockets as Army units are away from home more now than during much of the peak of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A smaller Army is taking on a much more demanding tempo of missions, with formations bolstering NATO's front lines in Europe and frontline units expanding their footprint in the Pacific to counter China's expansionist goals, all while juggling combat missions in the Middle East and Africa.

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The constant pace of deployments and time away from home has put significant strain on the force, an issue senior leadership has been highlighting since at least 2020. But deployments abroad have become only more frequent, particularly amid renewed focus on Europe after Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

The deployments are also accompanied by extensive training in the field, which keeps soldiers away from home even longer.

"Our op tempo now is pretty much as high as it's been during the Global War on Terrorism," Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told Military.com in an interview last year.

The strain has also affected the mental health of the force, Army planners have warned. Suicide in the service has risen steadily in recent years.

A misconception is that those mental health crises are related to combat trauma, when the bulk of suicides, especially in recent years as the post-9/11 wars wound down, are among soldiers who have never seen combat.

Some of that has been attributed to financial stress and rocky romantic relationships, issues that become inflamed when soldiers are often away from home.

However, the new bonus pay will cease if soldiers are hospitalized, according to the draft policy. It's unclear whether the pay will cease only if the soldier is flown home to be cared for, or if that termination of extra pay includes when a soldier is being treated in a hospital abroad.

It's also unclear where the Army funding is coming from, as no recent congressional moves have authorized new money to cover it.

The Army did not respond to a request for comment when asked whether this new deployment pay stacks on top of existing bonuses including hazardous duty or imminent fire pay, which are typically served for soldiers in combat zones.

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment when asked whether similar new deployment bonuses were being integrated in the other services.

Here is the new bonus pay that the Army is set to implement for deployed troops per month: 

E-1 to E-4: $210

E-5: $240

E-6: $300

E-7: $360

E-8: $420

E-9: $450

WO-1: $240

WO-2: $300

WO-3: $360

WO-4: $420

WO-5: $450

O-1: $240

O-2: $300

O-3: $360

O-4: $420

O-5 to O-6: $450

Related: Soldiers Are Getting Burned Out. Army Leadership Knows It's a Problem.