In a separate action, Congress okayed special pay for dentists as part of the Defense Authorization Bill and President Clinton signed the legislation. The special-pay provision will allocate $3.7 million to each branch of the service. The legislation increases special pay for junior officers and board-certified senior officers on active duty in the dental corps. It also provides a $30,000 bonus for dentists entering the military service and special pay for dentists in the Reserves. But the services still are working out the details of the pay increases and exactly how much money military dentists will be getting is yet to be determined.
Judi Hasson
Washington Correspondent
