Veterans For America

Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Army has authorized a $225-per-month bonus for soldiers serving as platoon sergeants and squad leaders in the new units designed for wounded soldiers undergoing long-term medical care.

The special-duty pay is for both active and reserve-component enlisted soldiers assigned to the Army’s new Warrior Transition Units, or WTUs, according to an Army personnel message issued this week.

There are about 550-600 soldiers serving in these two positions, including Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers serving on active duty, Army spokeswoman Kathryn Reynolds told Stripes in an e-mail Tuesday.

Special-duty assignment pay, or SDAP, is a monthly payment the services give to enlisted members who are performing jobs considered especially difficult, dangerous, or those that involve an unusual degree of responsibility.

WTU squad leaders and platoon sergeants deserve it because they “are responsible for providing critical around-the-clock support for the wounded warrior and his family,” Reynolds wrote.

“The leadership, operational and administrative knowledge, technical competency, compassion and diplomacy these soldiers must exercise daily through personal interaction with numerous activities and agencies would normally be that of more senior and seasoned personnel.

“They are routinely required to go above and beyond what is expected of their rank, years of experience, and military occupational specialty to provide mentorship, guidance, and logistical services,” she wrote.

In October, the Army announced that 32 WTUs would be stood up beginning in January, with locations throughout its major medical installations.

A typical WTU company includes six platoon sergeants and 18 squad leaders, with one squad leader assigned for every 12 patients, Army officials said in October.

WTUs were developed after the Army began focusing on fixing deficiencies in its long-term medical care for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.