Air Force weighs cut in special-duty pay to thousands

Left: Pararescuemen conduct night training exercises at Balad air base in February.

Air Force leaders are considering cutting special-duty assignment pay for thousands of airmen by $75 per month...

SDAP is given to enlisted members who perform duties designated as extremely difficult or requiring high levels of responsibility. The Defense Department sets six levels of SDAP in $75 increments. The lowest monthly payment is $75; the highest is $450.

In the Air Force, examples of airmen eligible for SDAP include agents in the Office of the Special Investigator, free-fall parachute instructors, and survival, evasion, resistance and escape instructors. About 9,000 airmen receive the payments, Wenz said.

Regardless of the final decision, about one-third of those who receive Air Force SDAP — categories such as special operators and pararescuemen — will not lose any money, he said. That’s because the Defense Department, not the Air Force, makes SDAP mandatory for these individuals.

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