I'D RATHER HAVE THE HUGS AND KISSES

But if I can't...well, we won't refuse this.

About 20,000 Soldiers who have been involuntarily extended beyond their expected 12 months of duty in Iraq or Kuwait will be eligible for extra pay of $1,000 a month.

The incentive package includes an additional $200 in hardship duty pay (above the $100 already being received) and $800 monthly in Assignment Incentive Pay, or AIP. This pay will be available to Soldiers in 42 units required to stay in theater past their expected rotation date due to operational needs, officials said.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced the unit extensions April 15, saying the period would be for up to 90 days in Iraq plus another possible 30 days in theater before redeploying home.

The extra pay will only be available once a Soldier exceeds 365 consecutive days in the Central Command theater. That?s 12 consecutive months or 365 days out of a 15-month period, explained Lt. Col. Gerald Barrett, chief of Compensation and Entitlements, G1.

?This is the Department of the Army?s way of providing for Soldiers in the identified units who were promised that they were leaving at a certain time, but because of operational requirements, they were required to stay longer,? Barrett said earlier this year when the incentive-pay program actually began.