A Look at the Great Global Welcome Mat

0 Comments | Insight on the News, August 9, 1999 | by John Elvin

Now, here's a swell deal: All you have to do is go to some high-risk trouble spot where you're likely to get your helmet turned into shrapnel by lead-slinging terrorists and you'll get a whole $150 extra each month! That may seem a paltry enticement, but military personnel have to serve in those areas anyway so, as they say, it beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

There are 43 areas around the world where U.S. military personnel qualify for imminentdanger pay and two, Yugoslavia and the Persian Gulf, where service members also get combatzone tax benefits -- meaning that no taxes have to be paid, up to a certain amount, on allowances for quarters, clothing and other necessities.

American Forces Press Service provided a list of areas where military personnel are eligible for imminent-danger pay. In many cases, only portions of the areas mentioned qualify for the extra pay. Here in the briefs bunker, posting the list was thought to be a public service to civilians who haven't put together their vacation itinerary as of yet. So here goes:

Zaire, Serbia, Montenegro, Yugoslavia, Yemen, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Tajikistan, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Qatar, Philippines, Peru, Panama, Pakistan, Oman, Mozambique, Macedonia, Liberia, Lebanon, Laos, Kuwait, Jordan, Italy, Israel, Iraq, the Ionian Sea, Hungary, Haiti, Greece, Georgia, El Salvador, Egypt, Croatia, Colombia, Chad, Cambodia, Burundi, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Angola, Algeria, Albania, Afghanistan and the Adriatic Sea. Breathe easy, folks: Walt Disney World's not on the list!