Special and Incentive Pays

Basic pay and allowances are only a part of the military compensation picture. Many military members qualify for special pays and incentives that are part of the service's recruitment and retention efforts. Some compensate members for assignment to hazardous or difficult duty conditions.

The Military Compensation website provides pages that describe some of the more common special pays. These include:

• Hardship Duty Pay (HDP)
• Hostile Fire Pay/Imminent Danger Pay (HFP/IDP)
• Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP)
• Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay (HDIP)

There are more than 60 special and incentive pays. The following is a list of those authorized by law. Visit your military finance office to find out if your service has implemented a specific special pay or incentive and whether you are eligible to receive it. You can get a definition of each at Military Compensation.

Hazardous Duty

• Section 301(a) Hazardous Duty Incentive Pays (HDIP).
  • Section 301(a)(1) Flying Duty, Crew Members. 
  • Section 301(a)(2) Flying Duty, Non Crew Members. 
  • Section 301(a)(3) Parachute Duty Pay. 
  • Section 301(a)(4) Demolition Duty Pay. 
  • Section 301(a)(5) Pressure Chamber Duty Pay; Section 301(a)(6) Acceleration and Deceleration Duty Pay; Section 301(a)(7) Thermal Stress Duty Pay. 
  • Section 301(a)(8) Flight Deck Duty Pay. 
  • Section 301(a)(9) Toxic Pesticides/Dangerous Organisms Personal Exposure Pay. 
  • Section 301(a)(10) Toxic Fuel/Propellants and Chemical Munitions Exposure Duty Pay. 
  • Section 301(a)(11) Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) – Maritime Interdiction Operations.
  • Section 310   Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay. 

Arduous Duty

• Section 305   Hardship Duty Pay. 

Assignment

• Section 307a  Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP). 
• Section 314   Overseas Tour Extension Incentive Pay (OTEIP). 

Career Incentive

• Section 301a  Aviation Career Incentive Pay (ACIP). 
• Section 301c  Submarine Duty Incentive Pay (SUBPAY).
• Section 304  Diving Duty Pay. 
• Section 305a   Career Sea Pay (CSP).
• Section 320  Career Enlisted Flyer Incentive Pay (CEFIP). 

Accession

• Section 309   Enlistment Bonus (EB). 
• Section 312b   Nuclear Officer Accession Bonus. 
• Section 324  Accession Bonus for New Officers in Critical Skills. 
• Section 329   Accession Bonus for Members Appointed as a Commissioned Officer after Completing Officer Candidate School.

Proficiency

• Section 316  Foreign Language Proficiency Pay (FLPP).  

Retention

• Section 301b  Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP).  
• Section 308   Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB). 
• Section 312   Nuclear Officers Extending Period of Active Duty.  
• Section 312c   Nuclear Career Annual Incentive Bonus.
• Section 318  Special Warfare Officer Continuation Pay. 
• Section 319  Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) Continuation Pay.
• Section 321  Judge Advocate Continuation Pay (JACP).
• Section 355  Critical Skills Retention Bonus (CSRB) or Bonus for Assignment to High Priority Unit.   

Responsibility

• Section 306   Officers Holding Positions of Unusual Responsibility.   
• Section 307   Special Duty Assignment Pay for Enlisted Members. 

Rehabilitation

• Section 328   Combat-related Injury Rehabilitation Pay. 

Skill Conversion

• Section 326  Incentive Bonus for Conversion to Military Occupational Specialty to Ease Personnel Shortage. 

Transfer between Services

• Section 327   Incentive Bonus for Transfer Between Armed Forces. 

Medical

• Section 301d  Multi-year Retention Bonus for Medical Officers. 
• Section 301e  Multi-year Retention Bonus for Dental Officers. 
• Section 302(a)(2) and (3)  Medical Officer Variable Special Pay (VSP). 
• Section 302(a)(4)  Medical Officer Additional Special Pay (ASP). 
• Section 302(a)(5) Medical Officers Board Certification Pay (BCP). 
• Section 302(b)  Medical Officer Incentive Special Pay (ISP). 
• Section 302a(a) Optometrists Regular Special Pay. 
• Section 302a(b) Optometrists Retention Special Pay. 
• Section 302b(a)(2) and (3)  Dental Officer Variable Special Pay (VSP).  
• Section 302b(a)(4)  Dental Officer Additional Special Pay (ASP). 
• Section 302b(a)(5) Dental Officer Board Certification Pay (BCP). 
• Section 302b(a)(6)  Dental Officer Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon Incentive Special Pay (ISP). 
• Section 302c  Nonphysician Health Care Providers Board Certification Pay (BCP). 
• Section 302d  Registered Nurse Accession Bonus.   
• Section 302e  Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) Incentive Special Pay. 
• Section 302h  Dental Officer Accession Bonus. 
• Section 302i  Pharmacy Officer Retention Special Pay. 
• Section 302j  Pharmacy Officer Accession Bonus. 
• Section 302k  Accession Bonus for Medical Officers in Critically Short Wartime Specialties. 
• Section 302l  Accession Bonus for Dental Officers in Critically Short Wartime Specialties. 
• Section 303(a) Veterinary Corps Officer Special Pay. 
• Section 303(b) Veterinary Corps Officer Board Certified Pay (BCP). 

Updated August 15, 2011