Washington– as Government shutdown Over the long term, military advocates have been warning of the long-term effects on National Guard forces and their readiness, while the military services grapple with the inability to fully offload active-duty members.
“The shutdown has been uniquely difficult for 433,000 Army National Guardsmen and National Guardsmen,” Francis McGinn, president of the National Guard Association, told reporters Monday.
The Trump administration has made a public effort Mitigating the impact on active duty members By moving the money around to make sure they get it He received two salaries Since the lockdown began on October 1st. But McGinn said more than 30,000 technicians — full-time civilian government employees who also serve in uniform — have not been paid since the end of September.
These technicians, members of the National Guard who typically train their units or maintain equipment, “play a critical role in our daily operations and generating readiness,” McGinn said.
What added to the pressure was that the Trump administration did so National Guard forces were sent to patrol The streets of many major American cities, including more than 2,300 Deployed in Washington, DC
The “damage” also goes beyond employee paychecks, and extends to more than a month of school cancellations, training and maintenance opportunities that troops will struggle to make up for when the government reopens, said John Hashem, executive director of the American Reserve, an advocacy group for Guard and Reserve forces.
“It’s not just saying, ‘We’re going to resume it next month,’ it’s that we’re in turmoil right now — I can’t put you back in school if I have to take you out,” Hashim said. “I can’t get you ready for the next workout because now, most likely, the whole workout has been changed.”
McGinn added that “there are just thousands and thousands of hours” of vehicle and aircraft maintenance that National Guard troops will have to catch up on.
Hashim and McGinn said they are also concerned about the impact of the closure on morale and employee retention. Technicians in particular feel “completely demoralized” and “betrayed by the government,” McGinn said.
At the same time, the Army faces a growing number of active-duty troops who need to be demobilized, but no one to prepare the official documents needed to certify their end of service.
An Air Force spokesman said in a statement that the Air Force is “legally prohibited from obligating the government for costs associated with certain voluntary and administrative separations that occur in November.”
A Navy official confirmed that the form containing details about the person’s service, including length of time, job specializations and awards earned, could not be completed, and final salary could not be released.
The form is crucial to the process because it officially marks the end of service and certifies the type of discharge the service member received — a key factor in determining eligibility for benefits such as the GI Bill or VA Disability Allowance.
Both the Navy and Air Force said they have allowed affected service members to sign up for a temporary extension of their service to wait out the shutdown and ensure they do not experience gaps in pay or benefits.
“Soldiers in their 45-day separation window will be affected by the fall in appropriations and the government shutdown,” an Army official said, but did not confirm whether the service was offering voluntary or involuntary extensions.
Officials from the three branches spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The Marine Corps did not respond to questions about the effects of the closure, citing the government shutdown.
Bert Field, Chief of the Air Force & The Space Forces Association has called for legislation to prevent future closures from impacting military pay. He told reporters Monday that after the government reopens, Congress must “pass a bill that doesn’t allow this to happen again to our military service members, our civilians, our Americans.”