EXCLUSIVE: War Department Raises Hazard Pay For First Time In Two Decades

WASHINGTON — For the first time in over two decades, the Department of War is increasing pay for service members who are engaged in “hostile fire” or “imminent danger,” The Daily Wire can first report.

Beginning Thursday, October 1, Hostile Fire Pay and Imminent Danger Pay will be increased to $450 and $275 per month respectively, according to a memo obtained by The Daily Wire that was sent by Assistant Secretary of War for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Timothy Dill to military officials in July.

The move comes as the United States continues its conflict with Iran and as more than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently deployed in the Middle East. Nineteen U.S. service members have been killed in the region during the war with Iran.

“Those who face combat deserve higher compensation that reflects the risks that they willingly undertake on behalf of our nation,” Anthony Tata, the under secretary of war for personnel and readiness, told The Daily Wire. “Raising Imminent Danger and Hostile Fire Pay for the first time in two decades is a step toward recognizing that sacrifice.”

That $275 monthly Imminent Danger Pay is prorated at $9.16 per day based on the “actual time spent in a designated imminent danger area,” the memo notes. Both Hostile Fire Pay and Imminent Danger Pay had been set at a flat monthly rate of $225 since October 2002.

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) conducts U.S. blockade operations related to the Strait of Hormuz on April 16, 2026 in the Arabian Sea. (Handout Photo by the U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

The move is designed to “appropriately compensate service members for the varying levels of operational risk they face while serving the United States around the world,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on Thursday.

Hostile Fire Pay will be paid to service members who are exposed to a hostile fire event, are on duty during a month in an area where a hostile event occurred that placed them in “grave danger of physical injury,” or if they are “killed, injured, or wounded by a hostile fire event.”

Imminent Danger Pay will be paid to service members who are subject to “the threat of physical harm or imminent danger on the basis of civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism, or wartime conditions in a foreign area.” That could include American service members who are currently stationed on boats in the Strait of Hormuz engaged in the conflict with Iran.

If an Imminent Danger Pay-designated area is escalated into active combat, commanders can transition their personnel from Imminent Danger Pay to Hostile Fire Pay immediately, providing “a clear and timely mechanism to acknowledge heightened risk levels,” according to guidance viewed by The Daily Wire. Service members can’t receive both categories of pay for the same period of service.

The news comes one day after Hegseth delivered his “State of the Force” remarks in Quantico, Virginia, announcing six major initiatives for the United States military. He shared that the military will implement a new four-star functional combatant command focused on building drones, robots, and artificial intelligence. Hegseth also announced Project Meridian, a mission focused on how the U.S. military can better fight in space and underground, as well as FORTRESS America, a command to get military bases on their own power grids, which The Daily Wire first reported.

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The War Department will also expand ROTC and officer training to more colleges (including Liberty University and Hillsdale College) in order to hire more effective military leaders and build new high-tech military bases from scratch. Finally, Hegseth said the military will be focused on providing spiritual support for the troops, 95% of whom reportedly hold Christian beliefs or believe in God.

“For almost two years, you’ve heard me talk — over and over and over — about three core priorities: reviving the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence,” Hegseth said Wednesday. “And I’m proud to stand on this stage and report that the warrior ethos has been revived, our military is being rebuilt, and American deterrence is back.”

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