Deployment Pay

[Griswald DME]

Since I haven't been on deployment yet, but from what I hear its going to happen sometime this year.  I'm curious if the various allowances you receive make a huge difference, or not much?  I'm Cpl. (basic) and curious to know if its worth waiting until after tour to purchase a house.

I don't need your numbers, just a general idea so I can make some considerations.

Thanks,
DME

 

[jeff001]

The various allowances do make a difference when combined. They also supplement your regular pay in a big way and, now with a return of your taxes, the difference is even greater. There are different factors depending on the location of your deployment etc. this will directly affect your FSP (Forein Service Premium). Your rank and qualifications have no bearing on your allowances.
As for buying a house before deploying ? Your call, but I will pass on some advice given to me, before my first tour, ( I just completed my fifth), " make financial plans not commitments". There is always a chance that you won't be deployed up to and including the last minute, or while in theatre something unfortunate happens, family problems, injury, something from preventing you form finishing the tour. Hope this helps Good Luck.

 

[Armymedic]

The two best times to buy a home is when you are posted, and in the fall (Oct, Nov) after your deployment.

If you are deployed the increase in allowances is $500+ up to about $1500 per month for a first deployment dependant on where and when you go.

 

[Navalsnpr]

Must be nice to know that you are able to get allowances like FSP.

Only ships that went to the gulf were entitled to receive FSP and Hazard pay.

It's weird that ships deployed on other operations such as NATO's Rapid Response Force aren't entitled to receive any benefits such as FSP or Hazard pay. They are entitled to LTA, phone benefits and incidentals while in a foreign port.

 

[Armymedic]

Must be nice to know that you are able to get allowances like FSP.

Yes but while you are on ship you get sea pay....

 

[Navalsnpr]

Yes but while you are on ship you get sea pay....

So someone who is posted to liason staff outside of Canada behind a desk is entitled to FSP whereas someone who is deployed operationally gets SDA?!?! There is something definately wrong with that.

Don't get me wrong, SDA is a great thing, but the FSP rate is more than double what Basic Sea Pay is.

I spent time in the Adriatic in support of operations in Yugoslavia. We got sea pay and the guys 50km to the east of us were getting FSP and Hazard pay. It doesn't seem right at all to have two groups work towards a common mission but one group is entitled to a large amount of benefits while the other group is entitled to SDA!!

 

[Armymedic]

So you give up SDA for FSP?

I can see you point, esp for trades like mine where we can switch elements.

But SDA is while you are posted to a ship to when your posted off, correct?

FSP is only for the time you are actually in country. And hardship and risk levels can change within a km of distance....but on ship you wouldn't be entitled for either.

I still think SDA is a better deal for you.

 

[Navalsnpr]

SDA is an entitlement for all members of the ships company, except if a ship is in an extended maintenance period when it is un-manned.

Ships that were in the Gulf received SDA during the transit there and back. During their time in the gulf, they lost their SDA and received FSP and Hazard Pay. That would mean that the majority of the crew would receive double or triple the allowances that SDA would offer.

For example, a firefighter onboard who spent over 4 years in West Germany was receiving over a grand of FSP because of his foreign service in West Germany.

It's funny that other Navies of the world, for example the Dutch, received a $1200.00USD bonus per month for being on a NATO depoyment, and there we were doing the same job but receiving only SDA!!

I remember that a couple of years ago, the idea of FDA was being tossed around that if you were posted to a field unit, you would get a monthly allowance regardless of if you were in the field or not.

Mind you with SDA, it's also considered compensation for the amount of Duty Watches we do on ship, normally one 24hr duty every 10 or 13 days.

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Navalsnpr is correct in that the old Germany gang used to get buckets of FSP points, but the system is now based on operational deployments, rather than just time overseas.  Desk-huggers in SHAPE, etc. are now compensated according to a different system and the entire allowances system changed a couple of years ago.  Allowances on deployments are now thus:

Ops FSP - based on points accumulated on tours, with incremental increases for every six months deployed.  I'm not sure if the old Germany crowd is "grandfathered" with this or not - but I don't think they are.  Perhaps someone can set me straight.
Hardship Allowance - based on an in-theatre assessment and assigned a level from 1 to 6.  I believe ships companies automatically get a level of three or four, but could be wrong here.
Hardship Bonus - a percentage of the HA, given for repeat tours.
Risk Allowance - again, based on an in-theatre assessment, assigned a level

This is the system for the Army and I know that HA and RA were assigned for the ships on APOLLO - I'm sure Navalsnpr knows better than I do how SDA factors into things and how the HA works for them.

 

[Navalsnpr]

I'm not sure if the old Germany crowd is "grandfathered" with this or not - but I don't think they are.  

They were grandfathered. Additionally, those members of the Navy who were in the Adriatic also received aappropriateincrements based on their time on station in the region.

This is the system for the Army and I know that HA and RA were assigned for the ships on APOLLO - I'm sure Navalsnpr knows better than I do how SDA factors into things and how the HA works for them.

Like always, SDA is not allowed to be received concurrently while receiving FSP. The same rules apply to all elements for the forces pertaining to the receipt of these allowances.

Unlike the Army, who when deployed would receive a TD or Attached Posting Message, the Navy normally doesn't do that as the ship is a mobile unit. Maybe the administrative function of deploying us to the NATO Response Force needs to be amended IOT allow us the ability to collect FSP.

Who knows!!

 

[George Wallace]

Navalsnpr

Sounds like a lot of whining on your part, and a complete lack of knowledge on how all these allowances work.

I am sure that all the Army guys on these forums would like to get Field Allowance for the period that they were posted to a Field Unit until they are posted out of a that Field Unit.  They would also like the benefits of cheap and Duty Free booze and cigarettes in their messes.  You are looking at benefits from one side of the fence and not seeing the whole picture, and think that the grass is greener on the other side.  It isn't.

I was one of those "Germany Crowd" guys and I got burned on those allowances near the end.  Those Allowances were calculated every five years to compensate for the differences in the DM and Cdn Dollar, and cost of living.  These differences changed constantly, and some days you won, some days you lost, on the exchange rates and cost of living, and you would have to wait another five years for the next calculations to be made on the allowances. 

Just to make another point.  The Army does not allow people to collect Field Pay and TD at the same time.  Nor do the guys in the Army collect Field Pay when they are getting FSP. 

Let's just say that the Bureaucrats will not allow us to make a "killing" on any of our allowances.

GW

 

[2 Cdo]

I honestly think too many people are worried solely about "extra pay" in todays army. For the most part we are more than adequately compensated when we deploy. We should spend more time worrying about the mission at hand than whining over a few dollars!
By the way, my first tour overseas we raked in a grand total of $155 extra per month! That was in Cyprus in 1986 and there was no way it covered my bar tab! ;D

 

[Navalsnpr]

George Wallace,

I'm not trying to start an argument, but mainly to raise a discussion regarding the point that if the Army and Navy are both working on the same mission like has been done in Yugo, Afghanistan or Haiti, then both elements should be entitled to the same set of benefits, which except for the Gulf hasn't been the case. Mind you I fully agree that personnel on the ground should receive higher Risk/Hardship allowances than personnel who are out on the ocean.