The federal government shut down at 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 30, 2025. Under the government’s official “Lapse in Appropriations” guidance, uniformed personnel stay on duty and most Defense civilians supporting “excepted” missions continue working, but normal pay is paused until Congress enacts funding. The formal Defense guidance for this shutdown reiterates that active servicemembers “may be assigned to carry out non-excepted activities in place of furloughed civilian personnel only to the extent that the non-excepted activity is capable of performance without incurring new obligations.
Paycheck Funding
Mid-month, President Trump directed the Pentagon to use “all available funds” so troops would receive pay despite the lapse. Reporting indicates the department moved to repurpose about $8 billion in unobligated R&D accounts to cover the October 15 payroll, and later acknowledged accepting a $130 million private donation to help offset military pay. Those extraordinary measures do not fully resolve uncertainty.
Training and Drill Impacts
Across the reserve component, routine training weekends are being postponed in many places. The National Guard Association of the United States advises that typical drill periods are not authorized during a shutdown unless they support excepted activities, and units are issuing state-by-state guidance.
High-visibility events are taking hits, too. The Navy’s Blue Angels skipped San Francisco Fleet Week this month because of the shutdown’s travel and funding limits. The team’s annual homecoming at NAS Pensacola was cancelled entirely, as base officials cited uncertainty around funding and logistics.
Health Care and TRICARE
Defense Health Agency operations continue in a constrained environment. TRICARE has told beneficiaries that they may keep appointments with civilian providers and that coverage remains in effect, but the agency has warned that processing and paying new medical claims for care received on or after October 1 may be delayed until funding is restored. This seems contradictory to the shutdown guidance exempting private-sector care from the shutdown’s effects. TRICARE also says the open season enrollment window for 2026 coverage remains on schedule despite the shutdown.
Commissaries, Schools, and On-Base Life
Defense Commissary Agency leaders say stores are operating normally for now and have enough working-capital funding to continue operations for at least 60 days, but have cautioned that extended lapses could force closures when funds are exhausted. Local updates from installations echo that message: commissaries remain open today, while warning that prolonged shutdowns may trigger furloughs and closures.
DoDEA schools have continued operating, but some extracurriculars and support functions are being temporarily paused or cancelled until further notice. Family-support organizations are pointing service members to relief programs and are updating installation-specific changes as they occur.
Civilians, Contractors, and the Industrial Base
The Defense Department relies on a large civilian workforce and a sprawling industrial base. Furloughs among non-excepted Defense civilians slow everything from maintenance to program management to installation services. For industry, the rule of thumb is that work on already-funded contracts continues, but new obligations cannot be made unless the work is tied to an “excepted” activity. This means option awards, new starts, and many modifications stall, with cascading schedule and cost effects that worsen the longer the shutdown runs.
Delays are not abstract. Even a short pause in program actions creates backlogs of source selections, award notices, and production ramp decisions that must all be rescheduled, often pushing milestones into a new quarter and adding cost.
The Bottom Line for Readiness
From flight demonstrations to weekend drills to program awards, the shutdown is eroding predictability. While core operations continue and combatant commands remain manned, the compound effect of delayed training, paused travel, furloughed civilians, and slow-rolling contracts is a readiness tax that grows each week. Commissaries can operate on cash reserves only so long and TRICARE can promise access while warning of delayed payments. Neither of those are durable substitute for appropriations.
What service members and families can do now is practical: confirm unit-level drill and travel guidance; keep scheduled civilian medical appointments but anticipate possible TRICARE claim delays; monitor installation and commissary updates; and, if needed, tap relief resources advertised by commands and service aid societies while Congress works toward a funding bill.
