Payday was a nerve-wracking event for military families in this heavily militarized region.
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NORFOLK, Va. – As the sun set on Oct. 15, military families in Hampton Roads, Virginia, looked at their bank accounts with increasing anxiety.
On that day, active-duty military personnel were scheduled to receive their mid-month paycheck. But as the government shutdown continued, military families grappled with difficult financial decisions and wondered how they would make ends meet if their pay was stripped 200 miles away in Washington, D.C. due to unresolved congressional disagreements.
“It’s literally like counting down the clock,” said Sharyn Pugh, 33, whose spouse is in the Navy. “You’re checking the news, you’re checking posts, you’re checking to see if anyone has any updates on whether or not they’re actually waiting for a paycheck.”
Most bimonthly service members received their paychecks on Oct. 1, the day Congressional Democrats rejected a Republican plan to keep the government funded and the government shutdown began.
But at the start of the week, mid-month salaries due on the 15th remained uncertain.
“It’s nerve-wracking,” Air Force Reserve officer Angela Sales said.
On the morning of Oct. 15, some active-duty military members told USA TODAY their checks had gone through. Some said they were still confused about their salary situation. Some reservists and non-military Pentagon civilians said they knew they would not be paid, even though they are required to report to work for jobs deemed essential to national security.
That afternoon, President Donald Trump said all active-duty military members would receive pay. “We want the people who want to get paid to get paid, and we want the FBI and the military to get paid,” he said.
The military’s next paycheck, due in two weeks, is still pending. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said President Trump’s directive to pay military personnel on October 15 is “not permanent.” If the shutdown continues, “we know that our military members are at risk of not receiving their full paycheck at the end of this month,” he added.
Stress builds up at Naval Base Norfolk before payday
Hampton Roads includes a group of cities that span the Chesapeake Bay, including Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach. It is home to more than 51,000 federal employees and 88,000 active-duty military personnel, many of whom are stationed at Naval Base Norfolk, the nation’s largest naval base.
On Oct. 13, a federal holiday, families flocked to the Navy Exchange shopping center on base, where military IDs were required. Families and couples loaded up carts with canned goods and snacks and compared fabrics for clothing. Many had small children in tow or strollers filled with blankets and toys.
One of them, Ms. Pugh, was pushing her daughter in a stroller as she browsed the store aisles. Her spouse plans to return to the family in the next few weeks after attending an educational program on the other side of the country. Alone in Norfolk and with three children at home, Pugh anxiously watched her approaching payday.
“You can’t predict when your car will break down or you’ll need a new washer or dryer,” she says. “That money can make or break us.”
She was considering taking on additional jobs such as cleaning or babysitting. She says the $10 or $15 surcharge that was once just “change” now adds up. “Every penny must be accounted for,” she said.
In the shopping center cafeteria, Angela Sales and Jeremias Sales, 48, and their two children, ages 17 and 12, were crammed into two shared Styrofoam containers containing lo mein noodles and chicken.
“We hardly ever eat out,” said Angela Sales, an Air Force reservist. Sales said she has already lost her paycheck. She still hasn’t received a check for five days of work last month, which included traveling across state lines to another military base.
“It’s hard when it’s an unknown,” she said. “That’s half our income.”
Stress is already affecting children. Sales’ teenage daughter said she worries the family won’t be able to afford a trip to New York for the track team’s national championships, as well as a long-awaited vacation to Oregon to celebrate graduation with her high school seniors.
Sales said families will likely make the difficult financial decision to tap into their military retirement savings. “It’s our last resort,” she said.
Economic sacrifice, looming dilemma
Military families in Norfolk say the government shutdown has made their financial choices riskier, from comparison shopping for the cheapest toilet paper to frequenting Costco to buy in bulk.
For some, these choices were particularly acute. Kevin Henderson, a civilian with the Pentagon, was scheduled to undergo neck surgery in early November. As an employee deemed essential to national security, he was working without pay. Financial constraints may force you to postpone the procedure and instead take up a side job as an electrician.
“That’s out of my control,” Henderson said.
“I’m trying to be optimistic,” said his wife, Heather, as she placed a baby bottle between the couple’s unwrapped sandwiches and bounced their young granddaughter on her lap. The couple has one son, who is still 12 years old, at home. One of his adult sons, a Coast Guardsman stationed in Portsmouth, was watching his mid-month payday approach.
“I could never have imagined having to go through this when all three of my sons were at home,” she said.
Heather Henderson, a hair salon owner, said she worries the economic fallout from the closures in military-heavy Hampton Roads will ultimately hurt her industry.
“I just hope it doesn’t affect my job, but it probably will eventually,” she said. “Hair is not a necessity.”
Troubled soldiers turn to their communities
Food banks are reportedly proliferating across the United States as both military personnel and government workers face insecurity. In Norfolk, food banks have announced new distribution efforts and community support events.
Lena Hobbs, 34, said her church is working with other local organizations to extend support to military personnel in dire situations.
“All you can do is rely on the community,” she says.
Hobbs said a loan from the Navy federal government has helped her maintain her family, including her husband, who served in the Navy for 15 years, and two children, ages 9 and 6. Other military members said that loans from credit unions, which offer interest-free loans during the government shutdown, are standing between them and their financial struggles.
Hobbs said that while the government shutdown may have upset her at the beginning of her marriage, she now knows it’s time to prepare and increase her savings.
“You get used to it,” she said. “It’s not a question of ‘if’ it happens, but ‘when’.”
Many Norfolk military personnel and their families expressed their frustration to lawmakers. Many speculate that if politicians are denied paychecks, the government shutdown will end quickly. According to the U.S. Constitution, members of Congress continue to receive paychecks even during the shutdown.
“The people making these decisions aren’t losing out financially. They’re still getting paid,” Heather Henderson said. “If they were affected financially by this…maybe decisions would be made sooner.”
Hobbs added: “It’s a little disgusting that our politicians are playing games with other people’s paychecks instead of their own.”
