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Cold-weather pay exists for some Alaska-based military members, but most Air Force personnel aren't eligible

soldier boots
Soldiers stand at attention during the deployment ceremony for the 164th Military Police Company, 793rd Military Police Battalion, 2d Engineer Brigade, U.S. Army Alaska, at the Alaska National Guard Armory, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014, on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The Soldiers are deploying for about five months to the island of Guam to provide site security for a facility there. As part of the deployment ceremony the company was awarded the prestigious Command Sgt. Maj. Farley Award for being the best military police company in U.S. Army Pacific. The award was presented by retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Mark L. Farley himself, who was the first enlisted military police Soldier to lead as the senior enlisted adviser at the 2, 3 and 4-star level commands, eventually retiring as the command sergeant major of U.S. Army Europe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Connaher/Released)

The U.S. military did not begin a new “Arctic pay” bonus for Alaska-based military members in 2023, as Sen. Lisa Murkowski intended when she added a cold-weather incentive provision to a defense bill last year. Instead, pre-existing incentives vary by location, and soldiers do better than airmen.

The Defense Department did not directly answer Alaska Public Media's emails about why it didn't implement universal Arctic pay, but an official responded this week with an explanation that some service members in Alaska already receive hardship pay of $150 a month for serving in remote locations. The official, who provided information on condition that her name not be used, said the hardship pay is distributed to military personnel serving above the Arctic Circle and at six other Alaska locations. 

That means only a small percentage of the more than 20,000 active duty personnel assigned to Alaska get hardship pay. The military has no major Alaska installations north of the Arctic Circle. Of the six other locations — Annette Island, Clear, Cordova, Eareckson, Fort Greely, and Unalaska — Fort Greely is by far the largest, and it has only a few hundred soldiers.

As Sen. Murkowski envisioned it, Arctic pay would help combat a serious mental health crisis for service members in the state, by easing financial stress and allowing the purchase of gear to get outdoors in winter, like snow tires or warm coats.

The Army (though not the other services) has another program intended to offset the cost of cold-weather gear. Soldiers in the Fairbanks area get a one-time $2,000 payment, or $4,000 if they’re supporting a family. The Army pays half those amounts to soldiers based in the Anchorage area and other places in Alaska that are south of the 63rd parallel.

That still leaves out a lot of service members — notably airmen. The Defense Department official said a component of cost of living allowance for Alaska troops is intended to compensate for the cost of serving in a cold-weather location — but that payout has fallen by hundreds of dollars annually due to higher inflation in the Lower 48.

Murkowski’s provision authorizing “Arctic pay” remains in law, without expiration, so the Pentagon could activate it later.

Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org.