Guard, reserve training cancelled

Military training for more than 110,000 Guard and Reserve personnel was cancelled due to the partial government shutdown. In a phone call to the President over the weekend, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gave “an update on about 90,000 National Guardsmen and 20,000 Army Reservists who have had their training cancelled,” said White House Office of Management Director Mick Mulvaney. Guard and Reserve personnel would “have to pick up their own pay and travel costs.” However, they would likely be reimbursed once Congress arrives at a budget deal or passes another Continuing Resolution to keep the government running at FY 2017 spending levels. In past government shutdowns, Congress has moved to continue paying the military, where annual salaries begin at less than $30,000. There has been no decision on that specifically, so far, after Day 2 of the shutdown. (Source: Military.com 01/21/18)