The President says Troops will get paid on October 15. What can Military Families Expect?

In a post on Truth Social Saturday afternoon, President Trump announced that troops will still get paid on October 15, despite the government shutdown.

“I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15. We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.”

By Saturday evening, multiple news outlets were reporting that the Defense Department plans to use approximately $8 billion of unused research and development funding from last year to make the payments, but military families have questions, and so do we:

Will they actually be able to count on money in their bank accounts on October 15?

Will that amount be their full paycheck?

Will Activated Guard and Reserve be paid, too?

Will this apply to all the Uniformed Services, including Coast Guard, NOAA, and the U.S. Public Health Service?

NMFA has been asking DoD, the White House, Congressional leaders, and even Treasury employees for answers.

When DFAS processes military pay under normal circumstances, the process takes several days. If this were a typical pay period, DFAS employees would have already started the process for your 10/15 paycheck last week. But many DFAS employees, like much of the Federal workforce, are furloughed due to the government shutdown. We don’t know how that will impact their ability to process and disburse paychecks quickly.

Still, without clear guidance on what you can expect, military families should continue to prepare for a delayed paycheck. Many financial institutions, including Navy Federal Credit Union and USAA, are offering no-interest loans to their members to cover a possible missed or delayed paycheck. Military STAR card holders can purchase groceries at the commissary until October 31 with no payment and no interest for three months.

Families facing financial hardship can also reach out to their Service Aid Society to apply for a grant or a no-interest loan.

• Air Force Aid Society: https://afas.org/
• Army Emergency Relief: https://www.armyemergencyrelief.org/
• Coast Guard Mutual Assistance: https://www.cgmahq.org/
• Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society: https://www.nmcrs.org/

We’ll update you with more information as we have it.

Military pay shouldn’t be political. Join us on the Hill on Wednesday at 9am to tell our elected officials that our families’ finances shouldn’t be a bargaining chip. Military families should be paid on time, every time.

America sleeps soundly because of you; you should be able to sleep soundly, too.