The following opinion piece is authored by a military family member and a member of the Democrats Abroad Global Veterans and Military Families (VMF) Caucus. The author resides in Europe and wishes to remain anonymous.
The current federal government shutdown is not only affecting federal workers stateside, but also those who work abroad and who serve the military community. Effective October 1, 2025, this shutdown has not prevented nurses, doctors, and hospital staff at the Landstuhl hospital from reporting to work and caring for patients. Thankfully, these heroes have stayed true to their ethics and have sacrificed much to provide treatment and healing to our service members.
Although some resources are in place to help individuals impacted by the shutdown, such as financial service providers offering flexible options to cover paychecks, it is essential to note that these services are only available to those who have already established an account with those banks.
Besides, critical social services have been closed down. The Military Family Readiness Center, a facility where people can seek family counseling and address marital issues, remains closed. The doors to the fitness centers remain shut – despite Defense Secretary Hegseth calling for service members in “peak conditioning.”
In addition, Department of Defense civilians – many of whom are veterans – have “non-critical” employment contracts with the U.S. government and, unfortunately, have been furloughed through no fault of their own. Many landlords in Germany tend to be lenient and understanding in these situations, but service members and military families are encouraged to seek on-base legal assistance in cases of rental disputes.
My heart goes out to those continuing to suffer from the shutdown, especially those service members and military families who have difficulties paying rent, groceries, and bills, as well as the psychological strain. This is a terrible situation that only speaks to the callous indifference of those who just really don’t care about their own fellow human beings.
What’s truly sad is that it didn’t have to get to this point. The Republican-led Congress controls both chambers, and as a result of them holding power, they have failed again to pass the annual appropriations bills that the American people expect to be signed into law late in the year. All U.S. voters should know that the work done at Landstuhl is world-class health care for our wounded warriors, and for the federal government to force these medical professionals to show up for work and not get paid is a travesty. Speaker Mike Johnson has not called the House of Representatives to show up for work in over a month, while military personnel continue to report to duty, perform their jobs, and train for worst-case scenarios. The individuals at Landstuhl are among the best America has to offer, and Congressional Republicans have ignored their calls for legislative action to reopen the federal government.
One can only hope that Congress gets its act together soon and passes legislation mandating backpay measures for when the shutdown ends.
U.S. citizens living abroad, both civilian and military, are highly encouraged to check your voter registration status and request your ballot for any upcoming elections in your home voting state that you are eligible to vote in.
The Global VMF Caucus, proudly consisting of veterans, military family members, Department of Defense (DoD) civilians, and strong allies of veterans and military family causes, has a membership of over 1,400 members located in dozens of countries.
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