Shutdown imperils paychecks for some 2,000 military members who live on Long Island

WASHINGTON — About 2,000 active-duty military service members stationed on Long Island or who live in Nassau or Suffolk counties — and roughly 28,000 throughout New York State — are unsure if they will receive their next paychecks on Wednesday.

The anxiety is already prompting some troops to seek low-interest emergency loans to get them through. And some community leaders have been contacted by locally stationed commanders for help in organizing food drops for service members who could run short of funds.

The pay stoppage could occur because of the continuation of the U.S. government shutdown — even as these military members remain on duty as essential to national security. Similar worries are gripping about 1.3 million active-duty military members nationally.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump said on social media that he was ordering the Pentagon to use “all available funds” to ensure U.S. troops are paid Wednesday despite the shutdown. But details of how that would work, and how quickly, were unclear.

A spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget told The Associated Press that Pentagon research and development funds would be used to pay the salaries.

"I’ve talked to soldiers in the last week. And they are like, ‘I don’t even know how I’m going to go food shopping,’" said Steven Castleton of West Islip, a philanthropist and former civilian aide to the secretary of the Army for New York South. 

On Friday, these troops remained in the political crossfire of a shutdown standoff, with no guarantee of a compromise by Monday to provide enough time to process the scheduled Wednesday payments.

Both sides in the 10-day shutdown stalemate Friday were still far apart on a bill to start money flowing to, and reopen, federal agencies and to guarantee troops get paid next week. Historically, military members have gotten paid during federal shutdowns with separate stand-alone bills.

But this week, even bipartisan calls by nearly 150 lawmakers for a vote to ensure members of the military get paid were rejected. As of Friday, the House did not plan to be in Washington next week.

"Starting next week, American service members, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, are going to miss a full paycheck. If Democrats don't end the shutdown by Monday, then that Oct. 15 date will pass us by," Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) echoed that, criticizing Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. LaLota said that in the House, "I voted to keep the government open and our service members paid and, out of respect for their sacrifice and as a Navy veteran, I’ve directed that my own pay be withheld until they receive theirs."

Democrats, however, have repeatedly declined to provide the needed votes to advance that bill. They want Republicans to add language to extend Obamacare tax credits that are set to expire in January. 

The House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, of Brooklyn, said Democrats would support a stand-alone bill to keep paying the troops but said Republicans need to come back to Washington to do that and reopen government.

"I’m hoping we can pull a rabbit out of the hat," said Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), calling it "drastic" that troops might not get paid. He said he hopes Johnson calls lawmakers back to allow members to get to a resolution to reopen government.

LI troops

Roughly 80% of the roughly 28,000 active-duty military personnel stationed in New York State are tied to Fort Drum, in Jefferson County, not far from the Canadian border, according the Pentagon. No official numbers were provided for active-duty military members on Long Island.

But Castleton, the former community military liaison for the region, said figures he has maintained show there are roughly 1,100 active-duty members living in Nassau and Suffolk counties, with some stationed to nearby posts such as Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn.

There are 500 to 1,000 active-duty National Guard and Navy and Marine Corps reserve members assigned to Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base Westhampton Beach — where the 106th Rescue Wing of the New York is based — and the Armed Forces Reserve Center Farmingdale. LaLota’s office said there are a little over 200 members of the U.S. Coast Guard in his district.

It was unclear if the president’s directive would apply to the Coast Guard, which is a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces but overseen by the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, the AP reported.

'Love of country'

The civilian aide role that Castleton held involved serving without salary to promote positive relations between the Army and  local communities. Those positions have since been discontinued across the country.

But Castleton has kept up many of his local connections. He said some of those, including military commanders stationed on the Island, began reaching out this week. He said he’s been happy to help.

"You don’t go into the military to get rich. You do it for love of country," he said. "But, your country should love you back."