AF updates enlisted special duty assignment pay effective Nov. 1

  • Published
  • By Kat Bailey
  • Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
The Air Force will update enlisted special duty assignment pay for several career fields, locations or special assignment duties effective Nov. 1, 2017, following the most recent Air Force semiannual review. 

SDAP is a monetary allowance that compensates enlisted Airmen serving in extremely demanding positions with unusually challenging responsibilities that differ from the normal demands of their jobs. Airmen receive a minimum of $75 per month up to the maximum of $450 per month. 

The review resulted in 13 additions to the pay table including a number of jobs with special experience identifiers such as flight engineer, special missions aviator, loadmaster and remotely piloted aircraft sensor operator. Other duties added to the pay table include airfield manager, digital network analyst, cyberspace mission forces, RPA cyber technician, special operations surgical teams and Korean cryptologic language analyst. 

Modifications, particularly clarification to eligibility criteria, were made to an additional 23 duties. 

“The Air Force meticulously evaluates this program to ensure we are accurately compensating our Airmen working in rigorous career fields with an unusual degree of complexity, difficulty or responsibility,” said Senior Master Sgt. Joey Williams, the Airman Support branch superintendent at the Air Force’s Personnel Center. “We hope to provide an incentive for Airmen to volunteer for and perform duties in critical career fields in order to best support future Air Force missions.” 

The specialty and individual assignment should meet one or more of the following criteria in order for SDAP consideration: 

- Duties require extremely demanding personal effort to ensure successful mission accomplishment 

- Positions are extremely demanding and require an unusual degree of responsibility over and above what would reasonably be expected in a military assignment for members with the same grade and experience 

- The special duty assignment is different from the normal career progression and job description for the Air Force specialty code 

- Duties requiring special qualifications that are met through rigorous screening and/or special schooling above the normal qualifications of the skill or grade to maintain proficiency 

To see the full special duty assignment pay list and a summary of the changes, visit the enlisted compensation landing page on myPers. Alternatively, select “Active Duty Enlisted” from the myPers dropdown menu and search “SDAP.” 

For more information about Air Force personnel programs, go to myPers. Individuals who do not have a myPers account can request one by following these instructions.