Hardship duty pay is additional compensation paid to service members assigned to locations where living conditions are substantially below those conditions in the continental U.S. (CONUS).

Military Hardship Duty Pay-Location

HDP-L is compensation paid to members assigned outside the continental United States in Quality of Life (QoL) Hardship locations -- Locations where QoL living conditions are substantially below the standard most members in the continental United States would generally experience. HDP-L is intended to recognize the extraordinary arduous living conditions, excessive physical hardship, and/or unhealthful conditions that exist in a location or assignment. Rates are payable in increments of $50, $100, or $150 a month based on the level of QoL hardship in a given area.

Specifics

• All members serving on PCS in a designated area, or serving in a temporary duty or deployed status for over 30 consecutive days in the area will receive HDP-L
• Members on permanent reassignment to the area will be eligible from the day of arrival
• Members TDY to the area are not eligible during the first 30 days of consecutive service at the designated location. On the 31st day, HDP-L will be payable retroactive to the date of reporting
• Entitlement to HDP-L continues through the date of departure on PCS

For specific conditions of this entitlement, including a list of current and past locations, view the DOD Financial Management Regulation.

Military Hardship Duty Pay-Mission

HDP-M is payable to members both officer and enlisted, for performing designated hardship missions. HDP-M is payable at the full monthly rate during any part of which, the member performs a specified mission. A member assigned to, on temporary duty with or otherwise under the operational control of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA), or the Central Identification Lab-Hawaii (CIL-HI) may qualify for HDP-M based on performance of a hardship mission members so assigned are entitled for each month in which they perform investigative or remains recovery in a remote, isolated area (including, but not limited to, areas in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and North Korea) for recovery of U.S. service member remains.

Military Hardship Duty Pay-Tempo

The Secretaries of the Military Departments may establish HDP-T programs under the authority of 37 USC 305. A mobilization or deployment tempo that requires the member to perform duties in an operational environment for periods that exceed rotation norms may be designated as hardship duty for the purposes of paying HDP-T. The Military Departments have not yet implemented HDP-T programs.