Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senator from Alaska | https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/about/bio
Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senator from Alaska | https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/about/bio
U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, both representing Alaska, along with North Dakota's Senate delegation, have called on the U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth to implement cold weather special duty pay for service members stationed in specific locations. This request follows a provision added by Sullivan and Murkowski to the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) aimed at addressing mental health issues within the military.
In their letters, the senators highlighted the financial challenges faced by service members in cold climates, where temperatures can fall below -20 degrees Fahrenheit during winter months. While military units provide necessary cold weather gear for operations, service members bear the cost of equipping their families for such harsh conditions.
The letters emphasized that this financial burden could contribute to mental health issues like depression and suicidal thoughts among service members who might feel financially constrained from maintaining an active lifestyle during winter.
“This financial burden is unique to the north and has second and third-order effects beyond a servicemember’s bank account," one letter stated. "Providing additional funds for our [service members] in cold weather locations—installations that the Department directed they be assigned—is not likely to solve the Department’s suicide problem, but it will assuredly help.”
Despite more than a year passing since this pay was authorized, many service members across Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota have yet to receive it—a situation described as a violation of congressional intent.
To clarify what constitutes a "cold weather location," language in the Fiscal Year 2024 NDAA defines it as any area where temperatures reach -20 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. This definition includes bases such as Eielson AFB, Clear AFS, Malmstrom AFB, Minot AFB, Grand Forks AFB among others.
The senators urged Secretaries Kendall and Wormuth to act promptly on implementing this pay as intended by Congress.
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