Last-minute scramble over pay takes a toll on military families during the shutdown

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Jennifer Bittner holds her 6-year-old daughter Amelia at their home on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Pflugerville, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Myer)

WASHINGTON – The government shutdown is exacting a heavy mental toll on the nation's military families , leaving them not knowing from week to week whether their paychecks will arrive.

Alicia Blevins, whose husband is a Marine, said she's going to see a therapist in large part because of the grinding uncertainty.

"I don’t feel like I have the tools to deal with this,” said Blevins, 33, who lives at Camp Lejeune, a Marine base near North Carolina's coast. “I don’t want to dump all this on my husband. He’s got men that he’s in charge of. He’s got enough to deal with.”

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