Special and Incentive (S&I) pays provide additional compensation to military members with specialized skills, who perform hazardous duties, or who are assigned to less desirable locations. In response to concerns about setting S&I pays, the authors conducted a study to develop a framework to improve the understanding of the purposes of S&I pays and how eligibility criteria and amounts of pays are determined.

Setting Special and Incentive Pay Policy in the U.S. Military

An Analytic Framework

Beth J. Asch, Avery Calkins, Jonas Kempf, John Marder, Daniel Schwam, Lucy Shearer

ResearchPublished Jun 16, 2026

Special and Incentive (S&I) pays authorized under Title 37 of the U.S. Code provide compensation—in addition to basic pay and allowances—to military members in critical occupations, those who have specialized skills and training, those who perform arduous or hazardous duties, or those who are assigned to more-austere and less desirable locations. There are more than 60 different S&I pays that fall into eight broad categories, including officer bonuses, enlisted bonuses, pays for health professionals, aviator pays, hazardous duty pays, and assignment pays.

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) raised concerns about the factors considered when the services set specific S&I pays and about the inequitable payment of S&I pays to members of the active and reserve components. In response to the SASC concerns, the authors conducted a study to develop an analytic framework for setting S&I pays and apply it to selected pays. The objective of the study was to develop a framework to improve the understanding of (1) the purposes or rationales for S&I pays, (2) how the eligibility criteria are determined and why certain members receive certain pays, (3) the amounts of the pays and how payments are determined, and (4) which rationales are primary when there are multiple purposes for a single pay. The development of the analytic framework drew from a review of the available literature and policy documents, discussions with subject-matter experts, and tabulations of military pay data. The study applied the framework to jump (parachute) pay and assignment pays.

Key Takeaways

  • The analytic framework is grounded in the principles of the military compensation system and the importance of supporting the armed services’ recruitment, retention, and other force management objectives. The framework requires that policymakers articulate (1) the purpose(s) of each S&I pay and how it efficiently supports force management, (2) the eligibility criteria and how the criteria are connected to the purposes of the pay, and (3) the amounts of the pay and how it is set to efficiently achieve the purposes of the pay.
  • The framework shifts away from recognition of unusual conditions of service, such as unusually dangerous or arduous duty, as one of the foundations for setting pay and toward the broader objectives of military compensation and the role of incentives, efficiency, flexibility, and taking a systematic approach. Recognition should only factor into the setting of a pay in the framework if doing so helps achieve recruiting, retention, and other force management goals.
  • Current practice in setting jump pay and assignment pays differ from the framework’s approach. The stated purposes, eligibility criteria, or amounts of these pays are not connected to force management requirements and whether they are being met effectively and efficiently by using these pays. Implementation of the framework will require shifting the focus of the setting of these pays from recognition of hazardous duty and austere locations, regardless of whether force management objectives are being met. Implementation will also require availability and access to high-quality data, ongoing reporting of metrics, and rigorous and timely analyses.

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Asch, Beth J., Avery Calkins, Jonas Kempf, John Marder, Daniel Schwam, and Lucy Shearer, Setting Special and Incentive Pay Policy in the U.S. Military: An Analytic Framework. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2026. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3287-1.html.
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This work was sponsored by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and conducted within the Personnel, Readiness, and Health Program of the RAND National Security Research Division.

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