ARMED FORCES: Equalization
ARMED FORCES Equalization
The U.S. foot soldiers' longstanding gripe against hazard-duty pay for fliers, submariners and paratroops finally got attention on Capitol Hill last July. Last week the foot soldiers took a hard look at Congress' decision and groaned.
Congress' solution was to "equalize" matters by awarding a $45-monthly combat bonus to all U.S. military personnel not already receiving hazardous-duty pay who spent six or more days a month within range of enemy guns.
Payments are to be retroactive to the beginning of the Korean war. To pay the bills, unit commanders in Korea, already swamped with the usual paper work, must take on more to keep up the list of eligibles. For the thousands of Korean veterans who have left the front—and in many cases the service, the Pentagon must check back into company records to see who is entitled to the money. This paper work alone, the Pentagon estimates, will cost $250,000,000—more than enough to buy a supercarrier or one thousand F-86s.
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