The federal government shutdown has affected troops and families in various ways around the world. Military Times wants to know: As a service member and/or military spouse, how has the shutdown impacted you and your family? For example, has it delayed your permanent change of station move? Did you receive your full paycheck on Oct. 15? Is your spouse a federal employee and working without pay? Has it affected child care or other services on base? What about your military health care or other federal benefits?
If you’d like to share your thoughts, email kjowers@militarytimes.com. Include your service branch, rank, age, marital status, family size, the name of your installation and phone number if we can contact you for more information. Let us know if it’s okay to use your name; anonymity can be granted upon request.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.