Servicemembers aboard ships won’t get extra hardship pay


By Erik Slavin
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 5, 2011

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — U.S. troops assigned to ships will not receive the location-based hardship duty pay authorized Friday in 18 Japanese prefectures, defense officials said Monday.

The thousands of sailors and Marines assisting in relief efforts associated with the March 11 earthquake and tsunami will continue to receive their additional sea-duty pay, but only those assigned to shore commands will gain the extra $50 per month, officials said.

Meanwhile, State Department policies have effectively granted State and Defense department civilian employees hundreds of dollars, and in some cases, more than $1,000 per month for living in the same hardship duty locations. All locally hired Department of Defense employees in those areas of Japan are eligible, according to the State Department.

FULL STORY:
http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific...y-1.140041

They're already getting it! It's called sea pay.

Being one of the people on Shore Duty, that just doesn't feel right to get the extra pay and the people actually out on the ships, on the front lines, aren't.

The $50 is stupid, but when someone is sitting in at a desk in Yokosuka collecting (a lot more if they're Civ), and the Sailor on a ship actually close to the action is not --there's something wrong with that picture.

What do they Japanese workers who stayed behind at the nuclear plant get? What do their families get? THEY deserve hazardous life pay, imo.

I don't think hazardous pay is necessary. My husband gets a lot of sea pay and that is his spending money since he is the one on the sea duty. I just count the days till shore duty!

Part of me is really tempted to run in here and go "Nee-ner nee-ner nee-ner". But I'll be good and I won’t.


But seriously, imho from the bottom of my shallow little brain, I truly believe this hazard/ hardship pay isn't because of any particular danger that we might be facing, rather it is a basic appeal to greed.

Think about it for a minute. Lots of the GS types working around Japan right now are Emergency Essential (EE), which means WE STAY PUT. My job, if I want to keep my job, is to stay right here and keep doing what I do regardless of what’s going on until my chain of command determines its time for us to go. The thing is, nobody, NOBODY ever really thinks there's going to be a series of events like what has happened here in Japan. I mean honestly, EE in Japan? Cake. Cake with pie on the side even. It’s not even a consideration. But… BOOM, here we are. The reality of the situation has set in... And I am MORE than willing to bet that some of my fellow civilian types are headed out of Japan just as fast as fast gets, maybe return rights to whatever job they had stateside, maybe taking jobs that they wouldn’t otherwise take, but if it gets them outta here, they are gone. Hell, people may even be quitting. I am also willing to bet that there are civilian types who had previously accepted positions over here who are now firmly in “Oh Hell No” column.

So… we get a hardship differential. Will it stop anyone from leaving, or encourage anyone to come over anyway… maybe. People do incredibly stupid shit for money, and this really isn’t stupid.

If it makes you feel any better there is also this: That $500/month is *pre* taxes. After taxes it will come out to about half that, and if this keeps up for too long it will shove every single one of us into a higher tax bracket.

Amy,
Let me get this straight. You are a civilian government employee who is considered to be "Mission Essential", which means you are required to stay here in Japan under the threat of losing your job should you decide to evacuate to the states. Therefore, you feel that this makes you entitled to the 10% pay increase that you are receiving for this, even though you knew when taking this job that you would be required to stay in the event of "hardship", as you put it.

However, you are resisting the urge to rub it in the faces of the Active Duty members serving on ships stationed in Yoko that they are not eligible for a $50/month hardship pay increase...

Did I interpret your post correctly?

With all due respect to everybody in the Navy, you joined the navy to put yourselves in harms way(I know, because I was active duty). You shouldn't get hardship pay to do your job! Just for the record, I don't think we (government civilian) should get it either. I am not suffering any hardships. In fact, things are better now that everybody left......

Yep, I am in 100% in agreement with you here. I dont think us Active Duty types need hardship duty pay either, because this is what we get paid for. Especially now, with the state of the budget, or lack of one... However, if it is determined that civilian government employees that work on the exact same base as I am stationed at WHEN I AM NOT UNDERWAY are eligible for a 10% pay increase, then I feel slighted in thinking that we arent deserving of the same sort of compensation for dealing with the same set of circumstances... Quite frankly, I would feel LESS slighted had they just come out and said "sorry, but this is what we pay you for" from the beginning, then to throw us a bone and say "hey, here is $50"... $50/month? Really? Will that even pay for a tank of gas right now?

Hoff, in a word: NO.

In a few more words: No you did not interpret my post correctly and who taught you reading comprehension anyway - a monkey? Because, *WOW* did you fail.

Let me try again, but I'll clarify a couple things for you first.

1) I’m a smart*ss. Sarcasm is my second language. Remember this. I’m sorry I forgot the little smiley face after my first sentence before. Maybe you would have caught on to it then. Although I don’t know a whole lot of adults that actually use nee-ner nee-ner so I would have thought that gave it away but apparently not.

2) I'm here and I'm gonna stay here and I'm going to keep doing my job. Extra money/ no extra money/whatever. Doesn’t change a thing. Oh and just for the record, even if there is a mandatory evac, I'll only be going as far as Sasebo.


HOWEVER, (this is the important part) just because I am, and just because I work with, a bunch of people that ARE sticking around doesn't mean that ALL the civilians are willing to stick around (regardless of their EE status). As I said above I am more than willing to bet that there are civilians (EE types included) that are going to be out the door as quickly as they can get, especially the ones who never thought that anything would really happen in Japan.

You've been on these forums, and you've read how people are reacting... not everyone is willing to trust that the government, ours or the Japanese, is going to do everything it can to keep us from glowing in the dark.

Now in the past I have actually witnessed people change their minds about a position that they had accepted because of a situation somewhat like the one we are currently in. Great job, great location, and tragedy strikes - a once in a thousand years event - and all of a sudden that job is not so appealing. So even though they’ve been hired… they call and say no I can’t take it, thanks anyway. I have no doubt that in the last (almost) 4 weeks the exact same thing has happened in Japan. Probably more than once.

A big part of the US civilian work force on bases in Japan is in reality spouses, and we all know how many of them have left (not passing judgment-just stating a fact), and lets be honest, we don't know when they are coming back. A good chunk of the remainder are EE positions, but even EE positions have time limits on them, or rather the tour has a time limit, not the position. Unlike the military the GOV can’t make civilians stay longer than their tour. But presumably someone needs to be in that job (other wise why does it exist, but that's a whole different conversation), so how do you get someone to want to stay, or encourage them to come I'll give you a hint: more money.

What I was saying, (which, yes, you totally failed to comprehend) is that our government is, painfully aware of all of this, and that I honestly believe that at least part (okay most) of the reason this hardship differential thing was authorized for civilians was to try and counter balance the effect this tragedy has had/and will have on the US Gov Civilian workforce, NOT because of any actual hardship.

Is it right, not especially, will it work…maybe.

Amy,
Alright, sounds good. Not really worth getting all wrapped around the axle, especially since you have come back and clarified what you meant. If I am the only one that misunderstood the point you were attempting to make, then I apologize. But, I am pretty adept at picking up what people are trying to lay down, and your use of sarcasm definitely was laid on a little light. Kinda hard for me to know that "sarcasm is your 2nd language" without ever having actually had a conversation with you...

But, regardless, I do believe we are on the same page now...

It's irrelevant. No one will be getting paid anyway....

http://www.stripes.com/news/officia...d-1.140090

okjapan - Nice huh?

All of those soldiers out in harms way really need to be concerned about this too.

Wonder if that includes those whose job it is to protect our vacationing and spending prez?

This shoudl have been taken care of last Sept. But at least they spent their time wisely, I mean we had to get all of the social agenda issues taken care of.

Gene's wife here.

I don't blame any one side. Both sides need to compromise and find a solution.

This could be a big problem for lots of people. As if life hasn't been stressful enough lately.

okjapan,
I agree there needs to be compromise on both sides.

My point is that one of congress's main jobs is to keep the government running, i.e. passing budgets and authorizations to do so. Also they are the only ones responsible for keeping the military funded - it is their JOB.

However the social agenda issues are partisan driven and do not keep our government running. Those items were deemed more important, and even when we are invoved in so many conflicts. Bet even those who were happy with their agendas getting passed will be crying foul if they fail to get paid.

IMO the priorities are way off and too many people (American's) do not even know what congress's job is anymore - possibly even congress itself.

@ Hoff & Elizabeth: For one, we civilians do not get the benefits that you guys get. (Stateside hires correct me if I'm wrong) Stateside hires get post allowance & their housing paid for. Local hire civilians only get post allowance is not much & it's based on the amount of dependants a SOFA member has. The only thing post allowance does is help offset the cost of food etc. Plus, speaking for local hires, we don’t get return rights to the states; it’s on our dime, so we don’t get that benefit.

When I was active duty, I had to work un-godly hours, & weekends like you guys do. However, with the current situation, some of us civilians are pulling long hours & weekends. (This upcoming weekend will be the first I have had off since the disasters hit.)

@ Gene: I agree about congress. However, they are a bunch of jack-holes! Congress put a two-year pay freeze on government workers (excluding all, but all of us types). So, we will not get a pay raise for two years.

Then, less than three weeks after they voted to freeze our pay, congress voted & gave itself a raise!

ARE YOU SERIOUS?! How blatant can these idiots be?!