Gov. ShutDown: The Lower Rank Soldier

Anyone buying this last minute flag waving by the tepublicans places you right alongside them as to the total hypocrisy and once again the continued use of the military personal for political gain that they've been doing the whole past decade. Your reps are in Congress, they knew exactly what would happen with a shut down, especially military related, and the false patriotic 'support the troops' at the last minute is just what it is, a pile of crap for their own wants as well as their corporate contributors and supporters yelling "shut it down" all being the 'chickenhawk' false patriot!

“But you all know as well as I do that a lot of these young troops live pretty much paycheck to paycheck, and when I start to think about the inconvenience that it’s going to cause these kids and a lot of their families, even half a paycheck delayed can be a problem for them."

Shutdown Could Affect Young Troops Most, Gates Says

April 7, 2011 – While emphasizing that service members eventually will receive the pay they would earn during a government shutdown, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates acknowledged here today that if the government shuts down for a week starting tomorrow, their mid-month paychecks would include only the pay they earned for the first week of the month.

During a visit with U.S. Division Center soldiers at Camp Liberty, the first question posed to the secretary concerned the possibility of a government shutdown and the effect it would have on service members’ pay.

“Over time, they won’t lose anything,” the secretary told reporters after the visit. “But you all know as well as I do that a lot of these young troops live pretty much paycheck to paycheck, and when I start to think about the inconvenience that it’s going to cause these kids and a lot of their families, even half a paycheck delayed can be a problem for them.

“So I hope they work this whole thing out,” he added.

Shouts of “Hooah!” rang out among the 175 soldiers gathered for the secretary’s visit when Gates began his answer to a question about the possible shutdown by saying, “First of all, let me say you will be paid.”

Gates joked that as a historian, it always has occurred to him that “a smart thing for government is always to pay the guys with the guns first.” But he then explained how the shutdown would affect the soldiers’ pay.

“Based on some stuff I read this morning, if the government shutdown starts on the 8th and goes for a week, you’d get half a check,” he said. “If it goes from the 15th to the 30th, you wouldn’t get a paycheck on the 30th, but you would be back-paid for all of it [when the government resumes operations].” {continued}