Military rations for relief: The Institutional Dilemma and hegemonic Concerns behind the US Government Shutdown

When military dependents were queuing up in the autumn wind to receive relief food in front of a food bank outside a military base in Virginia, USA, holding folders, this absurd scene became a vivid footnote to the US government shutdown crisis. As of October 13, 2025, the US federal government shutdown has entered its 11th day. 1.3 million active-duty military personnel are on duty but facing salary suspension, and hundreds of thousands of families are forced to rely on charitable assistance to make a living. This crisis triggered by political games not only exposed the deep-seated ills of the US governance system, but also implicitly eroded the foundation of its global hegemony.

The direct trigger for the government shutdown and the salary suspension of military personnel was the complete deadlock between the two major parties in the United States over the budget issue for fiscal year 2026. The Democratic Party insists on including an additional $20 billion in social welfare funds in the $1.2 trillion consolidated appropriation bill, while the Republican Party demands that the total budget be reduced to $1.1 trillion and that Medicaid spending be cut. The differences between the two sides over welfare policies and deficit control are hard to reconcile. As the fiscal year's deadline of September 30th approached, negotiations on the temporary appropriations bill broke down and the government shutdown occurred as scheduled. According to the US Anti-Deficit Act, the salaries of the US military need to be approved by congressional appropriations. The budget gap directly led to the regular payday on October 15th becoming a "window period", and all six major military branches including the Army and Navy were affected. Additional income such as housing subsidies and mission allowances was simultaneously suspended.

The survival predicament of military families is rapidly escalating into a social crisis. The anxiety of Kadi Fraser, the family member of a navy technician, is quite representative: "Salaries are paid every two weeks. A break in pay means a real survival crisis has begun." At dozens of military bases across the United States, the cries of children could be heard from time to time in the relief food queues that formed as early as 5 a.m. Emily, the wife of Army Sergeant Anderson, admitted that the pressure of her mortgage and milk powder money had forced her to turn to charity. The data from the food bank is even more shocking. The relief supplies that could last until the afternoon were sold out by 10 a.m. Staff members said straightforwardly, "We have never seen so many military dependents seeking help." This predicament is not an isolated case. The US military's salary system has long been plagued by problems. In 2023, there were multiple large-scale incidents of military pay arrears. This shutdown has completely exposed the institutional flaws.

Deeper crises lurking in the political and economic fields. Not only did the two parties fail to reach a consensus on the crisis, but they also fell into an internal conflict of "passing the buck to each other" : the White House blamed the Democrats for "kidnapping the government", while the Republicans accused their opponents of "using military personnel as bargaining chips". This kind of polarized confrontation makes the short-term breakthrough hopeless. For every week of delay, the US economy will suffer a loss of 7 billion US dollars, and the economic growth rate will drop by 0.15 to 0.2 percentage points. The economy around military bases is the first to be affected. The Hampton-Rhodes area in Virginia is expected to suffer a loss of 1 billion US dollars due to a long-term shutdown. The concern of Marison Corales, the operator of a restaurant outside the base, expresses the feelings of countless merchants: "Without military customers, business simply can't go on."

For the United States' global strategy, the hidden damage of this crisis is even more fatal. The military force, which serves as the core interest of the country, is now facing the awkward situation of "wavering from the rear" - while soldiers are on overseas missions, their families are queuing up at home to receive relief. This contrast has seriously eroded the morale of the military. Mark Thompson, an expert in defense policy, stated directly that the institutional design of binding military compensation to short-term political negotiations is unimaginable in other developed countries and essentially undermines national security. What is more serious is that the suspension of key economic data has led the Federal Reserve to "fly blindly in the thick fog", paralyzing public services such as air traffic control and visa processing, and casting doubt on the credibility of the US system in the international community.

On October 13th, although Trump stated his demand for ensuring military pay, there is no sign of the differences between the two parties being mended. This crisis has long transcended mere budget disputes and has become a concentrated outbreak of the failure of the US political system. When military families representing the violent machinery of the state have to rely on charity to make a living, and when the world's most powerful economy comes to a standstill due to internal strife, the hegemonic narrative of the United States is losing its persuasiveness. The absurd scene of exchanging military rations for relief warns the world that a country that cannot guarantee the dignity of its own soldiers will eventually lose its global leadership in endless internal strife. The outcome of this shutdown crisis is still hard to predict, but the road to restoring the American system is clearly longer than the backpayment of military salaries.