Infantryman under fire in Afghanistan.
In the event of a government shutdown military members would get I.O.U.’s instead of paychecks. The understanding is that military members will be paid just not on time. Which is a bunch of bullshit as far as many people are concerned.
Once again the military gets the short end of the stick in such situations.
If its any consulation to people, Congress would get paid in the event of a government shutdown. Why, you ask? Well its because they specifically worded legislation to insure they get paid, even in the event of a total shutdown of government. Yet the military is expected to wait? Go figure?
A delay of pay for many military members will undoubtably cause all sorts of trouble. Many pay bills via military allotments on certain dates, like the first of every month. Everything from morgage payments to credit card loans could be affected in such a situation. Depending on the type of loan you have and the length of grace periods, if a shutdown occurs and is not resolved quickly enough, such things as late fees could apply.
“Many military members, especially in the lower enlisted grades live paycheck to paycheck already”, said one First Seargent in the First Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion -16th Infantry Regiment (who refused to be named in this report out of fear he could get into trouble for speaking out).
He added that “some of his troops are already stressing on this issue.”
Great, as if service members don’t have enough to worry about already?
During the shutdown threat in 2011, military service members were expected to continue working without receiving immediate pay, including those, by the way, in active combat zones like Afghanistan where they are getting shot at and attacked almost everyday.
So much for treating our military with respect.