Although the government shutdown is expected to have a larger effect on domestic U.S. military installations, many overseas servicemembers might feel the strain of the federal closure on some of their military benefits.
Administrative services at overseas bases will be reduced due to civilian furloughs, while the Armed Forces Network will be scaled back to only one news channel, Stars and Stripes reported. However, overseas commissaries and exchanges will remain open, despite being closed stateside.
According to the news source, military personnel will step in for furloughed civilian staff to help facilitate AFN's broadcasts.
The U.S. Air Force in Europe and Africa is expected to lose 1,400 of its 1,726 civilian workforce, the news outlet reported, while the Navy is bracing for the furlough of 60 percent of its 200,000 civilian staff.
Health care services for active-duty troops in Europe might also be reduced if the government shutdown lasts longer than a week, according to a statement released by the U.S. Army's Europe Regional Medical Command. The ERMC is suspending 38 percent of its civilian staff, and another 25 percent at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany – the largest military hospital outside the U.S.
"The absence of such a large portion of our Army Civilians could have an impact on access to care and the level of non-critical services we are able to provide," a spokesperson for the ERMC said in a statement.