WASHINGTON — It's not much of a stretch to consider flying over Syria dangerous duty.
But until a few days ago, the Pentagon didn't consider air crews flying missions against Islamic State fighters eligible for combat pay.
Missions in Syria began Sept. 21 and continue today with jets pounding tanks, trucks and barracks. The Syrian regime, headed by Bashar al-Assad, has sophisticated air defenses, according to the Pentagon, although they have not targeted American warplanes.
Yet the military's table of world hot spots, last updated Dec. 31, 2013, didn't account for bombing in Syria. The memo details, down to latitude and longitude in some cases, regions in which troops qualify for "imminent danger pay."
Central Command asked that Syria be added to the list on Oct. 1. On Dec. 8, the Pentagon signed off on the request, making combat pay retroactive for troops serving there.
"The department recognized that there was an imminent threat of physical harm to service members conducting operations above Syria and we wanted to ensure that they received the additional compensation they deserve," said Navy Lt. Cdr. Nate Christensen, a Pentagon spokesman.
Nobody's going to get rich flying there. But there will be a little something extra in troops' paychecks for the effort. To be precise, they'll earn $225 more per month for their effort. And they'll get retroactive pay: $7.50 for every day.
The new rule affects about 600 troops, Christensen said, and is expected to cost $18,000 per month.
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