Gates: Troops' Pay Could be Delayed

Washington Post reports:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates expressed concern Thursday about the potential impact of a government shutdown on U.S. troops, who could face delayed payments if Congress and the president fail to reach a budget deal soon.

In a question-and-answer session with about 175 soldiers at Baghdad’s Camp Liberty, one asked about the impact of the looming shutdown.

“First of all, you will get paid,” Gates said, joking that it’s wise for governments “to always pay the guys with guns first.”

But he added that a shutdown would mean that military personnel would get partial paychecks for the first half of April. If a shutdown extended into the second half of April, paychecks would stop coming until the federal government resumed normal operations. Any missed pay would be reimbursed at that time.

Gates said an interruption would hurt military families, many of whom now live paycheck to paycheck. “I hope this thing doesn’t happen,” he said.

Gates made his remarks on the third day of a Middle East trip that included an initial stop in Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah. On Thursday, he plans to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki , President Jalal Talabani and others. Gates said it was likely his final trip to Iraq as defense secretary. He has announced plans to step down this year.

In his remarks, Gates noted the relative calm in Baghdad amid the U.S. military’s gradual pullout from Iraq, with a year-end deadline looming for the departure of the remaining 47,000 troops. U.S. combat operations ended last year, though many still leave bases for training operations with Iraqi soldiers.

Gates said the U.S. is open to continuing a smaller U.S. presence if Iraqi officials make a formal request, preferably sometime soon. U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey told Gates in a meeting Thursday that U.S. troops were “the glue” holding Iraq’s security together.