DoD Announces Increase in Foreign Language Pay
May 10, 2006

The Department of Defense announced today an increase in Foreign Language Proficiency Pay (FLPP) for military personnel who qualify effective June 1.

The Fiscal Year 2005 National Defense Authorization Act authorizes the Secretary of Defense to increase FLPP pay from a maximum of $300 per month to a maximum of $1,000 per month for qualified active duty members and offer a $6,000 per year bonus for qualified Guard and reserve members.
Enhancing the department’s FLPP program is a critical facet of the overall Defense Language Transformation initiative. The purpose of the program is to:

Encourage people with a language capability to self-identify in order to employ the language skills existing in the force.
Encourage more people to study a language. The Defense Language Program must stimulate the acquisition of language skills and be able to maintain language skills of strategic importance to the department.

Encourage people to increase their language proficiency to create a cadre of language professionals operating at an advanced level of proficiency.

Increase the capability in languages of strategic need to the department.

The enhanced program will emphasize languages needed to support the Global War on Terror, the recommendations of the Quadrennial Defense Review, and those of strategic importance to the Department of Defense.