No Danger Pay for Special Forces Headed To Iraq

[no4njnk]

He is sending SF since if he sends standard troops that means he acknowledges there is a war, one that he pulled troops out of. Send SF as "advisers" means no war, just helping.

[BP]

He is sending SF since if he sends standard troops that means he acknowledges there is a war, one that he pulled troops out of. Send SF as "advisers" means no war, just helping.

There are lots of people that fall under the SF umbrella, given the advertised size of force though I'd guess these are mainly forward air controllers. The primary mission would be to destroy any seized American equipment so we don't see a bunch of Humvees running down civilians on CNN.

[Forever_frost]

US advisers to Iraq will earn combat pay

By Kristina Wong - 06/22/14 06:24 AM EDT

Special operators being sent to Iraq will receive combat pay, even though they will not be going as part of a combat mission, the Pentagon’s press secretary said Saturday evening.

The clarification came after confusion over whether the advisers President Obama is sending to Iraq as part of a non-combat mission would receive pay usually reserved for those who serve in a combat zone.

Combat pay, technically known as Imminent Danger Pay, allows U.S. troops to earn an extra $7.50 per day, or $225 maximum per month for undertaking higher risk.

"Our advisors in Iraq will qualify for IDP," Rear Adm. John Kirby tweeted late Saturday.

The seeming contradiction highlights the awkwardness of the administration's decision to send troops back to the country to help Iraqi security forces fight off Islamic extremists after the U.S. combat mission was declared over in 2011.

"Our combat mission in Iraq ended in 2011," said Kirby on Friday.

After the Sunni extremist group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria succeeded in taking over several major Iraqi cities this month, Obama announced last Thursday he would send as many as 300 military advisers to Iraq to help its forces defend Baghdad.

The advisers, which will include Green Berets, will train and advise Iraqi security forces at joint operation centers in Baghdad and Northern Iraq, which presumably will not bring them close to combat.

Administration officials sought to emphasize that although the advisers would have the inherent right of self defense, they were not there to engage in combat.

"This is not a combat mission. These personnel are going to be doing assessments and eventually helping us with advisory missions and helping gather intelligence," Kirby said Friday.

Yet, there is no mistaking that the troops could be in harm's way.

Imminent Danger Pay is paid to troops who face "the imminent threat of physical harm" due to "civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism, or wartime conditions," according to a Pentagon press release earlier this year.

In January, the Pentagon announced it had reviewed areas where troops would qualify for IDP and decided to disqualify the "land areas" of East Timor, Haiti, Liberia, Oman, Rwanda, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

In addition, the Pentagon disqualified the land areas of and airspace above Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, and Montenegro, as well as the four water areas of the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, and the Red Sea.

The water area and air space above the Persian Gulf was also disqualified.

It was decided during that review that IDP would remain in effect for troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen and Egypt.

"Nothing changed," Kirby tweeted Saturday.

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/210163-us-advisers-to-iraq-will-earn-combat-pay

[LANTIRN]

Kerry landed in Baghdad this morning, I'm 100% confident he'll get this completely sorted out.

Now that is fucking funny!

[KBScobravert]

Am I the only one that wished they would just give a huge contract to Dyncorp, Cochise, and Blackwater to go defend the Embassy with a massive civilian force? Let them go kill those fucks by the truck load.

My prediction. ISIS/L will spend the next 2 months surrounding and inching through Baghdad and hit the US Embassy on 9/11 with a massive complex attack. Large VBIEDs at ECPs and perimeter breaching points supported by IDF and then overrun the complex.

ISIS/L leader even said when we released him in 2009, "see you in New York". That could lead you to the conclusion that he is looking for some symbolism. And what better than ANOTHER US Embassy on 9/11 and what better than the biggest one in the world?

[samuel642000]

Am I the only one that wished they would just give a huge contract to Dyncorp, Cochise, and Blackwater to go defend the Embassy with a massive civilian force? Let them go kill those fucks by the truck load.

My prediction. ISIS/L will spend the next 2 months surrounding and inching through Baghdad and hit the US Embassy on 9/11 with a massive complex attack. Large VBIEDs at ECPs and perimeter breaching points supported by IDF and then overrun the complex.

ISIS/L leader even said when we released him in 2009, "see you in New York". That could lead you to the conclusion that he is looking for some symbolism. And what better than ANOTHER US Embassy on 9/11 and what better than the biggest one in the world?

I'm wih you, someone not held back by the ROEs, and just there to earn money. People that do not have worry about the repercussions of engaging the enemy in a way that might upset the liberals.

The decisions this administration makes boggles my mind, even with the outcome being painfully obvious. I really hope your prediction is wrong, however, I tend to fall on the realist side of things and agree with you.