Longer tours, more pay in Korea now official

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http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/04/military_korea_tours_pay_040809w/
news/2009/04/military_korea_tours_pay_040809w

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Apr 21, 2009 18:00:15 EDT

Longer tours with family members in South Korea, and the incentive dollars that go with most of them, are now a reality.

The Pentagon approved the changes to the Joint Federal Travel Regulation on March 2 and put out an internal news release, but U.S. Forces Korea did not publicly announce them until April 7.

The new policy allows for 24- or 36-month accompanied duty tours at Pyeongtaek, Osan, Daegu, Chinhae and Seoul, and 24-month accompanied tours at Dongducheon and Uijeongbu.

Any Army or Air Force service member on one of the three-year tours will receive $300 monthly incentive pay from arrival in Korea until departure.

Those accepting a two-year accompanied tour in Dongducheon and Uijeongbu also will receive the incentive pay, but only if their family members live with them in Area I — generally, the area north of Seoul.

The tour options aim to build more continuity of service by steering troops toward longer tours in an increasingly Westernized country that an in-service poll has shown is less desirable than other long-tour overseas locations where troops can bring their families, officials say.