The US government has cut by about a third the list of places where its troops get imminent danger pay, dropping locations such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in a move expected to save $111 million a year.

Among the more than 20 locales dropped from the new list, which takes effect June 1, is Bahrain, headquarters to the US Fifth Fleet, plus the waterways of the neighbouring Gulf, Arabian Sea and Red Sea, where the Navy regularly deploys its ships.

Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan also were removed as countries where US forces receive imminent danger pay (IDP).

The US military has forces in several of those countries. In many cases, the airspace above the country or waterway also was removed from the list.

"The imminent threat of physical harm to US military personnel due to civil insurrection, civil war, terrorism or wartime conditions has been significantly reduced in many countries," the Pentagon said in a statement.

"As a result, IDP will be discontinued in those areas."

Military personnel will continue to receive imminent danger pay for serving in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, where the US fought wars over the past decade.

They will also get it in Jordan and Turkey, which border Syria, where a civil war is raging.

The sea near Somalia, where pirates have been active, is on the imminent danger list. So is Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the home of the US prison for captured enemy combatants, as well as Israel, Azerbaijan and the city of Athens, Greece.

50,000 fewer troops to receive danger pay: Pentagon

Pentagon spokesman Army Colonel Steve Warren said the Defence Department spent about $557 million on imminent danger pay in 2012.

Military personnel receive $8.36 per day when working in areas where they are eligible for the special pay, up to a maximum of $250 per month, he said.

Colonel Warren said the decision to drop places from the list followed a regular review and was not budget-driven. The reviews take place every couple of years, he said, with the last one being in 2011.

"This is a routine recertification. The combatant commands take a look at the security situation in their areas and make recommendations," he said.

Colonel Warren said 194,189 military personnel received imminent danger pay in 2012, the most recent year for which there were records.

As a result of the changes, about 50,000 fewer people will receive the pay, reducing costs by about $111 million, he said.

A defence official said the cost reduction would be driven by two main factors: the continuing drawdown of US troops in Afghanistan and the removal from the list of so many places where the US regularly deploys personnel.

Reuters