Military educational institutions across the country have generally been unaffected by the partial government shutdown as a result of the Department of Defense continuing to be funded, however the Coast Guard Academy and National War College in Washington, D.C. have been affected.
The U.S. Coast Guard receives funding from the Department of Homeland Security, one of the shut-down government agencies. As a result, 160 civilian employees at the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut are furloughed and none of the academy cadets received their most recently scheduled stipend.
Academy seniors receive between $600 to $650 and freshman earn $300 to $350 in stipends on the 1st and 15th of the month Petty Officer 2nd Class Lauren Laughlin, public affairs specialist for the Coast Guard Academy told the Military Times.
As the only armed service branch running without funding, the Coast Guard Academy has attracted a lot of military and political attention. There have also been several bipartisan efforts to fund the Coast Guard and its academy during the shutdown have been proposed, but have not yet been voted on.
The National War College had 31 students and five faculty members on furlough as a result of the government shutdown. However, the college was recently notified that all but three students and one faculty member could return to the campus because they are State Department employees, a department which recently freed up funds to permit employees to return to work and school.
According to National War College dean Cynthia Watson, the students were told that they could attend the college for at least two weeks with the hope that the shutdown will have ended by then.
The remaining students and professor all work for the Department of Homeland Security and continue to be furloughed until the shutdown ends. The college currently serves 208 students and offers courses on national security strategy.
If the furloughed students continue to miss school because of the partial government shutdown, “because we are under accreditation, we would have to address it,” Watson said. “Students have to attend school for a certain amount of hours. We have in place mitigation plans to address this, but in February, the students may not fulfill their graduation requirements and probably will face uncertainty in their programs.”
