Operational Deployment Pay (ODP) is payable to Soldiers deployed away from their permanent duty station (PDS) / home station on an approved deployment lasting over 60 consecutive calendar days. The purpose of ODP is to provide a special pay in recognition of the greater than normal rigors of deployments.

Active Duty Soldiers in pay grades E-1 through O-6 who are entitled to Basic Pay and meet all of the eligibility criteria are eligible to be paid Operational Deployment Pay for the period the Soldier is deployed in support of an approved deployment.

The Soldier must be deployed in a temporary duty status away from the permanent duty station (PDS)/home station on a deployment lasting over 60 consecutive calendar days. For the purpose of ODP, a Soldier is considered deployed away from their PDS/home station when the following conditions are met:

• The Soldier is not at their home station or PDS, and
• The Soldier is not preparing to deploy or attend training prior to arriving in the theater of operation, and
• The Soldier has arrived in the theater of operation and is properly accounted for in the Deployed Theater Accountability System (DTAS).

The Soldier must not be entitled to the meals portion of per diem.

A Soldier’s deployment order will serve as the substantiating document to justify the payment of ODP. Only after the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCS), Army G-1 designates the deployment as a qualifying deployment, will each deployment order include the following paragraph:

“Operational Deployment Pay (ODP) is authorized for the period of this deployment. ODP is paid on a daily prorated basis, not to exceed $240 per month. ODP payments will stop on the 31st day of an absence when you are assigned to temporary duty, on leave, hospitalized, or otherwise temporarily absent from the operational area for more than 30 consecutive calendar days.”

The monthly payment rate of ODP is payable on a prorated daily basis not to exceed a monthly rate of $240. It is payable in addition to all other pays or allowances, except when the Soldier is also eligible to receive Career Sea Pay for the same period as ODP.

Soldiers in Combat Zone Tax Exclusion (CZTE) status pay no tax on the ODP, but it is taxable for Soldiers serving outside such locations.

Administrative Rules:

Absences:

1. ODP will stop when a period of administrative absence or leave, including rest and recuperation leave (chargeable or non-chargeable) exceeds 30 consecutive days. ODP will stop on the 31st consecutive day of the absence. ODP payments will resume when the Soldier returns to duty in the deployment location.
2. Soldiers placed on an authorized leave period that ends with the discharge of the Soldier or the release of the Soldier from active duty will terminate the eligibility for ODP on the day the Soldier departs the deployment location.
3. When a Soldier entitled to ODP is absent without leave (AWOL), payment eligibility will stop on the first day of AWOL through the day before the date the Soldier is restored to full duty, provided the Soldier is otherwise eligible for ODP.

Hospitalization: When a Soldier is deployed and is hospitalized and is absent more than 30 consecutive days, the Soldier will stop receiving ODP on the 31st day of absence, unless otherwise qualified to continue to receive the pay under 37 USC § 372.

Temporary Duty: ODP will stop when a period of temporary duty exceeds 30 consecutive days. Soldiers will stop receiving ODP on the 31st calendar day of the temporary duty absence. This does not apply if the temporary duty is in support of the deployment and the Soldier remains within the operational area.

Confinement:

1. When a Soldier entitled to ODP is confined by military or civil authorities, including a period of pre-trial confinement, the Soldier is not considered deployed during the confinement and the ODP payment will stop effective the first day of confinement.
2. When a Soldier is confined by military or civil authorities, including a period of pre-trial confinement, is acquitted, or has charges dismissed, he or she will be entitled to ODP. Payments will be retroactive to the first day of confinement, provided the Soldier remained otherwise eligible for ODP. Retroactive payments will not include any period beyond the date the deployment ended, which is defined as the date when most of the unit or detachment arrives back at the unit or detachment’s home station.

Captured or Missing Status: A Soldier entering a status of missing, missing-in action, interned in a foreign country, or captured by a hostile force will continue to be credited with ODP for each day while in such a status.

ODP Payment Calculation:

1. ODP payments will be computed as if each month has 30 calendar days.
2. Soldiers who arrive on a date during the month other than the first day of the month will be paid for the actual number of days served during the month, but only through the 30th day of the month. A Soldier who arrives on the 31st day of a calendar month, is not entitled to ODP for that day.
3. Soldiers who arrive during the month of February will be paid ODP for one month (30 days), less the prorated amount for the number of days from 1 February to the day the Soldier departed the PDS. If the service ends before the last day of February, the Soldier will only be paid for the actual number of days served in the deployed location.
4. Deduct 1/30 of one month’s pay for each day’s absence in a non-pay status while the Soldier is confined or AWOL.

Operational Deployment Pay (ODP) Memorandum:
https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_c/NOCASE-POG_219263-000-WEB-1.pdf

DoD Instruction 1340.26 (Assignment and Special Duty Pay):
https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/134026p.pdf?ver=2019-01-11-075015-873

Army Regulation 637–1 (Army Compensation and Entitlements Policy):
https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN34387-AR_637-1-001-WEB-3.pdf