SHUTDOWN: Resources Available to Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Civilian Workers

U.S. Capitol on Dec. 29, 2022. USNI News Photo

WASHINGTON - October 2, 2025 - The partial U.S. government shutdown threatens to leave thousands of sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and women and civilian workers without pay, while non-essential operations grind to a halt due to exhausted funding.

The U.S. government partially shut down on Wednesday after Congress failed to reach an agreement to fund multiple agencies, including the Defense Department, resulting in the unpaid furlough of most non-military personnel. This means activities deemed non-essential will cease to operate – potentially impacting resources available to military families – and troops and critical civilian positions will work without pay until a continuing resolution or appropriations are passed by Congress and signed into law.

“During this government shutdown, the mission of the Navy-Marine Corps team continues without pause, but not without challenges and hardship. Essential operations, including shipbuilding and maintenance to the extent authorized by law, remain underway,” said Navy Secretary John Phelan in a pre-recorded video statement released late Wednesday.

The Navy’s four public shipyards will remain open with essential personnel on the job without pay. Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Va., Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, N.H., Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Wash., and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Hawaii, are focused on the repair of the Navy’s nuclear fleet of submarines and aircraft carriers. During previous shutdowns, shipyard workers were given backpay for their work.

Civilian mariners with the Military Sealift Command (MSC) will also continue to sail under the government shutdown.

Military members, all of whom continue to report to work, received their paychecks Oct. 1 without interruption because the pay period fell under the previous funding allocation. However, if the government does not reopen by Oct. 15, troops and essential non-military workers will go without pay until new funding is signed into law. Backpay will be issued when the shutdown is lifted.

“You will remain on duty and continue to serve. We know the human side is real. A shutdown can touch pay timing, schedules and the rhythm of daily life. We see it, we understand it, and we are committed to helping you through it,” said Gen. Eric Smith, commandant of the Marine Corps, in the video alongside Phelan and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle.

To prepare families, the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard have provided their sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen and women with a list of financial resources to tap into, including:

• Fleet and Family Support Program

• Department of the Navy Civilian Employee Assistance Program

• Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society

• Coast Guard Mutual Assistance

• Coast Guard Foundation

Military OneSource is also offering to help sailors, Marines and Coast Guard members – as well as the soldiers, airmen and women and guardians – with money management, parenting, relocation, deployment and other life concerns.

To minimize financial hardship, select banks and credit unions offer shutdown assistance to military members and their families. Those institutions include, but may not be limited to: USAA, Navy Federal and First Command Financial Services.

Additionally, there is information available to civilians employed by the Navy and Marine Corps:

• Department of the Navy Shutdown/Emergency Furlough Information

• United States Marine Corps Civilian Employee Assistance Programs

The Military Sealift Command and other parts of the Navy – like the Fleet Readiness Centers and Marine Corps maintenance depots – operate under the Navy Working Capital Fund. The Navy’s working fund provides a cushion of up to several weeks of operation under a shutdown. Naval warfare centers are also supported by the Working Capital Fund, according to a service official.

Some resources available to military families, such as commissaries, are also supported by a defense Working Capital Fund, and can stay open for about 60 days before the fund is depleted, according to the Defense Commissary Agency. Defense Department Education Activity (DoDEA) schools will remain open, but extracurriculars will pause. Childcare and medical services may vary by installation.

Navy Exchange retail stores, services and gas stations will remain open, according to the Navy Exchange. Additionally, Navy Gateway Inns & Suites and the Navy Lodge will continue operating. Hospitals under the Department of Veteran Affairs will continue to operate without interruption.

Meanwhile, naval installations and museums typically open to the public announced closures Wednesday, citing the government shutdown. Specifically, Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida – including the National Naval Aviation Museum, the Pensacola Lighthouse and the National Parks Service’s Fort Barrancas – and the floating USS Constitution Museum in Baltimore, Md., will be closed until further notice.

U.S. service academy sports are unaffected by the shutdown. Navy faces Air Force at home on Saturday. West Point has an away game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Saturday.

Source:   CAITLYN BURCHETT,  USNI News