Troops just got the first raise in hostile fire pay and imminent danger pay since 2002. The new rates took effect Oct. 1 with the start of the fiscal year.
Hostile fire pay moves to $450 a month from the prior $225. Imminent danger pay moves to $275 a month, or $9.16 a day, up from $225 or $7.50 a day.
What changed
Assistant Secretary of War for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Timothy Dill signed the memo dated July 14. The Marine Corps had already posted the higher caps for Marines earlier in September. The change now covers the whole force.
Hardship duty pay-location drops from $150 to $100 a month so the combined special pays stay under set maximums.
Hostile fire vs imminent danger
You cannot draw both in the same month.
Hostile fire pay is for troops who meet at least one DFAS criterion: subjected to hostile fire or a hostile mine explosion; on duty close enough to a hostile fire incident to face the same danger; or killed, injured, or wounded by hostile fire, a hostile mine, or other hostile action. When a commander authorizes it for that window, the member gets the full $450 for the month.
Imminent danger pay is geographic. DFAS maintains a list, last updated in May, with 58 locations from Afghanistan to Yemen. Members get $9.16 per day in a designated spot, up to $275 a month.
Epic Fury and the map
The Iran conflict is in its seventh month. Operation Epic Fury started in February. Iran has sat on the imminent danger list since 1979, and it is one of 19 regions newly designated dangerous when Epic Fury kicked off.
If an imminent-danger area turns into active combat, commanders can move troops from IDP to hostile fire pay right away.
Why an E-4 should care
Two hundred dollars more on hostile fire, or fifty more on imminent danger, is real money on a junior enlisted LES. Check your LES and your location code. If you are on the list and the line is wrong, take it to finance with the orders in hand. Rent is due on the 1st either way.
Cover photo: U.S. Marines conduct a live-fire exercise aboard amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, March 27, 2026. U.S. Marine Corps photo via DVIDS (ID 9592833), https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9592833/us-marines-conduct-live-fire-exercise-during-operation-epic-fury. The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.
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Sources
- Military Times, "Troops get first increase in 24 years for hostile fire, danger pays," by Hope Hodge Seck, Oct. 1, 2026, https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/10/01/troops-get-first-increase-in-24-years-for-hostile-fire-danger-pays/
- Stars and Stripes, "Pentagon boosts special combat pay rates for all military services," by Corey Dickstein, Oct. 1, 2026, https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-10-01/pentagon-raises-combat-pay-23027389.html
- Defense Department Military Compensation, Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay rates page (prior HFP $225 monthly; IDP $7.50/day up to $225), https://militarypay.defense.gov/Pay/Special-and-Incentive-Pays/HFP_IDP/
- DVIDS photo 9592833, U.S. Marine Corps, March 27, 2026, https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9592833/us-marines-conduct-live-fire-exercise-during-operation-epic-fury