B.D.F. Soldiers Concerned About Pay During Haiti Deployment

B.D.F. soldiers have voiced concerns about their pay during the upcoming deployment to Haiti, especially given the extreme violence still plaguing the country. Reflecting on his own experience in Haiti back in 1994, B.D.F. Commander Azariel Loria shared insights into the inherent risks soldiers face in such a volatile environment.

 

Brig. Gen. Azariel Loria, B.D.F. Commander

“It’s a bunch of us, it was a platoon of us that deployed back in ’94 and we were on rotation.  All that we were provided in terms of allowance, per diem, was five dollars a day, five U.S. dollars to deploy in a hostile situation and we were deployed under Chapter Seven of the UN operations.  So we were allowed to use our weapons, deadly force, as the case may be.  Five dollars.  We did it, I did it because I wanted the experience.  The soldiers wanted the experience and we did it from the heart, from the willingness to serve, going there to Haiti and trying to make a difference.  Now, the allowances that they will be provided, the soldiers, the thirty or so soldiers that will be deployed, they are going to get fifty U.S. dollars a day, plus the allowance is that you have fifty U.S. dollars a day, plus what you have mentioned about the risk and hardship allowance in addition to the fifty [dollars] so you do the math.”