Troops’ Pay Authorized During Shutdown
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The White House has directed DefSec Pete Hegseth to issue paychecks to military service members during the federal government shutdown, reports The Washington Post. The Defense Department will repurpose money to make payroll.
Military charities had said last week they were preparing for an onslaught of requests for help during the shutdown, reports Task & Purpose. Military members were facing missed paychecks on Oct. 15. With troops’ Wednesday pay date approaching, major service relief nonprofits had already seen a surge in requests for financial assistance.
Tricare medical providers are being told their claims for services for military families might not be paid until government funding is restored, reports Navy Times. The reason is not clear since DoD shutdown guidance specifically exempts private-sector care under Tricare from the shutdown’s effects.
The Trump administration laid off more than 4,100 government employees Friday amid the ongoing shutdown, reports The Hill.
Hundreds of Department of Homeland Security employees are being reassigned to agencies focused on border security and deportation work, reports Defense One. They could face dismissal if they don’t accept the positions.
SmartAsset has ranked 50 states and Washington, DC, based on estimated per capita impacts of the federal government furloughs, including the total number of dollars at stake in the local economy. Excluding the District of Columbia, Maryland has the highest rate of furloughs, while Connecticut has the lowest, according to the report.
The Pentagon is preparing to name the defense contractor that will design and build the Navy’s next-generation stealth fighter jet, Reuters reports.
The US Senate endorsed the repeal of 2002 Iraq war resolution, reports AP News. The Senate voted Thursday to repeal the resolution that authorized the 2003 US invasion, following a House vote last month that would return the basic war power to Congress. The amendment was approved by voice vote to an annual defense authorization bill — a unanimous endorsement for ending the war that many now view as a mistake.
The US will send about 200 troops to Israel to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private sector groups, reports AP on MSN. US Central Command is expected to establish a “civil-military coordination center” in Israel.
The Small Business Innovation Research program could be in trouble, reports Breaking Defense. On Oct. 1, funding for the SBIR lapsed, and while it could be restored, lawmakers are at an impasse about whether it should be. The SBIR program is administered by the Small Business Administration and provides seed funding to small businesses for tech development. The Defense Department is the largest participant in the program. Authorization of the SBIR and Small Business Technolgy Transfer programs requires agencies to pause new awards and solicitations until Congress passes a reauthorization bill. The House passed a short-term reauthorization bill, but Senate Republicans voted it down, with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) proposing program reforms to “root out waste,” reports the American Insitute of Physics.
Senate Republicans confirmed more than 100 Trump nominees last week, reports Fox News on MSN. One of the most recognizable people on the list was former Republican Senate candidate and ex-NFL star Herschel Walker, who was selected to be the US ambassador to the Bahamas.
The US will host a new Qatari air force facility in Idaho, where pilots will train to fly F-15s, reports The Hill. DefSec Hegseth said the Qatar Emiri air force contingent will be located at the Mountain Home Air Force Base. Mountain Home AFB already hosts Singapore’s air force F-15SG fighter jets.
The US Government Accountability Office finds the Navy is scavenging for spare parts from grounded materiel in order to fill its maintenance needs, reports Navy Times. The problem arises from gaps in the Defense Department’s data rights for weapon systems that force Navy maintainers to rely on vendors for parts, which extends the time it takes to make repairs, according to the report.
The US Marine Corps has decommissioned its Assault Amphibious Vehicle after 50 years, reports Navy Times. “The AAV gave Marines both mobility and armored protection, allowed them to close with the enemy and seize objectives at speed,” said COL Lynn Berendsen, commander of the Assault Amphibian School at Camp Pendleton, CA. The AAV is being replaced with a new eight-wheeled vehicle, the Amphibious Combat Vehicle, or ACV.
Sikorsky gave a first look at its rotor-blown wing family of next-gen vertical take-off and landing aircraft, reports Aviation Pros. Called the “Nomad” family, the proprotor can be scaled in size from a small Group 3 uncrewed aerial system to the “footprint equivalent of a Black Hawk helicopter,” said Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager.
The US and Finland have signed a deal for four icebreakers, reports Breaking Defense. The agreement will have Finnish shipyards construct four Arctic Security Cutters, medium-sized icebreakers that will operate with the US Coast Guard’s largest ships, the Polar Security Cutters. Reuters reports that the agreement will lead to seven ASCs being built in the US in Texas and Louisiana. The icebreaker program in total is expected to cost $6.1 billion.
RADM Bob Wirth has taken over duties as commanding officer of the USS Wyoming, reports Military Times, after the firing of commander Robert Moreno. The Navy said Moreno was relieved of his duties due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.
The US Coast Guard Cutter Midgett returned to its home port in Honolulu, HI, after a 79-day deployment to the Eastern Pacific Ocean in support of the counterdrug mission Operation Pacific Viper. While patrolling international waters off the Pacific coasts of Mexico and Central America, the Midgett crew apprehended 19 suspected drug smugglers and interdicted four suspected drug smuggling vessels, preventing 21,126 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated value of more than $156.4 million, from reaching US shores, reports Seapower Magazine.
DoD is establishing a new counter-narcotics joint task for in the US South Command area of responsibility “to crush the cartels, stop the poison, and keep America safe, report Fox News. The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold,” Hegseth said Friday.
A new DoD task force has been established to develop a plan to improve living conditions for US troops in all military barracks. The plan will identify investment opportunities and create policies for barracks standards that will prioritize air and water quality for troops, reports Marine Corps Times.
Four graduates of the US Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River have joined NASA’s newest astronaut candidate class, reports The BayNet. Rebecca Lawler, a former Navy lieutenant commander, LT CMDR Erin Overcash, CW3 Ben Bailey, and LT COL Katherine Spies are among just 10 people nationwide named to the 2025 class.
An explosion on Friday at a Tennessee plant that makes military explosives left multiple people dead, reports CNN. Accurate Energetic Systems company specializes in manufacturing various high explosive compositions and specialty products for the Defense Department and other industrial markets in the US.
New laws on driving, cannabis, criminal justice, and more took effect in Maryland on Oct. 1, 2025, and CBS News takes a look at some of the changes.
Major League Baseball will use robot umpires in 2026, reports The Associated Press. The Automated Ball/Strike System, or ABS, will be introduced in the form of a challenge system in which the human umpire makes each call, which can be appealed to the computer.
Contacts awards are not being published during the government shutdown.
