Gates: Shutdown Could Delay Soldiers' Pay

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told U.S. troops in Iraq Thursday that their pay could be delayed if the government shuts down.

“If the government shutdown starts on the 8th and goes for a week, you would get half a check,” Gates said while visiting Baghdad’s Camp Liberty. “If it goes from the 15-30th, you wouldn’t get a paycheck on the 30th.”

Gates noted that they would eventually receive back pay, but added that he emphasized with the difficult situation a shutdown would leave them in.

“I remember when I was your age, that I did a lot of living from paycheck to paycheck,” Gates said. “I know it will be an inconvenience for a lot of troops.”

Although soldier pay may be furloughed, the Pentagon has indicated that basic defense operations will continue in the event of a shutdown.

“We would retain the ability and the authority to continue to protect our vital interests around the world, to continue to safeguard the nation’s security and wage the wars we’re fighting and the operations that we are conducting right now,” Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters Tuesday.