- Cover Letters
- Jobs I've Applied To
- Saved Searches
- Subscriptions
- Marine Corps
- Coast Guard
- Space Force
- Military Podcasts
- Benefits Home
- Military Pay and Money
- Veteran Health Care
- VA eBenefits
- Veteran Job Search
- Military Skills Translator
- Upload Your Resume
- Veteran Employment Project
- Vet Friendly Employers
- Career Advice
- Military Life Home
- Military Trivia Game
- Veterans Day
- Spouse & Family
- Military History
- Discounts Home
- Featured Discounts
- Veterans Day Restaurant Discounts
- Electronics
- Join the Military Home
- Contact a Recruiter
- Military Fitness
Special Duty Assignment Pay
If you are an enlisted member who is performing duties which have been designated as extremely difficult or involving an unusual degree of responsibility in a military skill, you may be entitled to Special Duty Assignment Pay (SDAP).
The following table reflects the most recent SDAP monthly rates:
What Military Specialties Qualify For Special Duty Assignment Pay?
Some of the qualifying military specialties include:
- Nuclear Trained Sailors
- Special Operations Forces
- Production Recruiter
- White House Communications Agency
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- Defense Courier Operations
- Senior Enlisted Advisor to the JCS
Keep Up With Military Pay Updates
Military pay benefits are constantly changing. Make sure you're up-to-date with everything you've earned. Subscribe to Military.com to receive updates on all of your military pay and benefits, delivered directly to your inbox.
You May Also Like
The Basic Needs Allowance can potentially add hundreds of dollars to the paycheck of a military member with a family whose...
The Internal Revenue Code places specific limits on the dollar amount of contributions military service members can make to...
Military per diem rates cover any military-related travel expenses. The per diem rate sets the limit to how much service...
In a move aimed at supporting service members during prolonged deployments, Army Secretary Wormuth announced that soldiers...
Military Pay Topics
- Military Pay
- Military Pay Calculator
- 2024 Military Pay Charts
- 2024 Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)
- Military Basic Pay
- Military Bonuses
- Reserve & Guard Pay
- Military Retirement Pay
- Special Pay
- Military Veteran Pay
Select Service
- National Guard
- Benefits Directory
- Active Duty
- Benefits for Retirees
- Veteran Benefits
- Military Spouse & Family
- Reserve & Guard
- Military Benefits Open Enrollment
Get the Military Insider Newsletter
Get the latest on pay updates, benefit changes and award-winning military content. Right in your inbox.
View more newsletters on our Subscriptions page.
Verify your free subscription by following the instructions in the email sent to:
Military Pay News & Advice
- Why Thanksgiving Is the Perfect Time for Important Financial Conversations in Your Military Family
- Tricare Changes are Coming in 2025. Here’s What Beneficiaries Need to Know Right Now
- Basic Needs Allowance Overview
- When Is a Good Time to Change Your Thrift Savings Plan Investments?
- Tricare Costs Are Going Up Again in 2025
Top Benefits Articles
The 2025 VA disability pay rates show compensation for veterans with a disability rating 10% or higher.
The military retirement system is arguably the best one around, but proper planning is needed to ensure you can retire...
Disability compensation is paid to veterans disabled by an injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated during active...
Most Popular VA Loan Articles
- Confusion, Misinformation and the VA Loan
- Veterans Buying Homes with VA Loans May Have to Pay Their Own Real Estate Agents
- Veterans at Risk of Losing Homes Could Get More Time as VA Urges Extended Pause on Foreclosures
- VA Introduces New 'Last Resort' Loan Program to Help Roughly 40,000 Veterans Keep Their Homes
- VA Pauses Foreclosures on Veterans Facing Difficulties Making Mortgage Payments
COMMENTS
ARLINGTON, VA, June 24, 2024 - The Air Force and Space Force have completed the annual review of special duty assignment pay for enlisted members and established new guidelines to support a quadrennial SDAP board process. The SDAP board has transitioned to having a board every four years, rather than annually. The change is intended to stabilize the budget for Airmen and Guardians receiving ...
Section 307 Special Duty Assignment Pay for Enlisted Members. To encourage enlisted members to qualify for and volunteer to serve in, or remain in, designated positions with duties that are extremely difficult, or carry an unusual degree of responsibility, when compared to typical jobs of members of the same grade level.
SDAP is a monthly pay used to help obtain high quality personnel for designated Special Duty Assignments (SDAs) and sustain adequate manning levels. SDAs involve demanding duties requiring extraordinary effort for satisfactory performance or an unusual degree of responsibility in the accomplishment of assigned duties.
Special Duty Assignment Pay (SDAP): Special duty pay is for enlisted soldiers in jobs that have been designated as extremely difficult or involve an unusual degree of responsibility. Examples of these jobs include parachuting instructors, fuel specialists, and combat controllers. The maximum amount of SDAP per month will not exceed $750.
Members currently serving in a functional community that was eliminated during the Fiscal Year 2025 board will continue to receive special duty assignment pay at a rate of one-half of their original SDAP effective Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025.
Enlisted members performing extremely difficult, dangerous, or other duties may be paid special duty assignment pay.
1. Be in pay grade E-3 or above; 2. Be on active duty and entitled to basic pay, or, for reservists performing inactive duty training (IDT), be entitled to "drill pay"; 3. Have completed any special schooling or on-the-job training (OJT) required for the special duty assignment/specialty [Note: OJT has to be at
2.1.3.1. Ensure all assignment incentive pay payments are consistent and comply with 37 USC § 352, Assignment Pay or Special Duty Pay. 2.1.3.2. Inform Air Force Personnel Center Assignments and Air Expeditionary Force Program Division (AFPC/DP3A), National Guard Bureau, Force Management Programs
The Special Duty Assignment Pay board, which has transitioned to meeting every four years, focused on identifying personnel in extremely demanding positions with unusually challenging responsibilities. , News, features and commentaries about Air Force Reserve people, equipment and missions.
FY 2024 (1 Oct 23 to 30 Sep 24) Special Duty Pay & Assignment Pay Authorizations, Levels, & Eligibility Criteria. UPDATED 16 OCT 2023. ALCOAST 360/23 announced Fiscal Year 2024 Special Duty Pay (SDP) and Assignment Pay (AP) authorizations. P&A's and SPO's must process starts and/or stops of SDP or AP for applicable members in accordance with ...