You assume a lot. I am a Viet Nam Era Veteran USAF 72-76 and have a lot of friends and relatives who are retired military, active duty, and several defense contractor friends as well. Under leftist administrations they alway suffer with or without a shut down caused by Reid and Obama. The average federal employee excluding defense is a democrat that got the job through being connected. I you are one of the do nothing conneced fed employees, I do despise you. Otherwise I pitty you for thinking you know so much. I am a defense contractor by choice and have a pension and other investments from the private sector. Yes I am working for free since Tuesday morning and prepared to continue until I get paid again. My company will make it whole. So I guess I would define you as an assumptive dimwit.
Fair enough - neither of us knows the other, yet you make the same assumptions I did. My point is that many of us fill useful jobs and are highly cognizant of the responsibility to be as frugal as possible with tax-payer money. I'm a Reagan Conservative and I love Ted Cruz and company. If the government decides to become fully responsible and pare down to the bare bones, I'm fine with it even if I end up on the streets. I know my people and there are no slackers among them - they train new recruits in their assigned AFSCs and help repopulate the field with quality troops. We operate under military type sense of duty and find ways to pare the undesirables before they become a burden on their new units. While many are left wing yo-yos, many are also patriotic citizens who despise Obama and Democrats in general. When I try to point that out, many react because it destroys their paradigm that all DoD civilians are useless leeches. For this round, I'm non-essential, but my instructors are essential - they can live without some degree of supervision/management because they are dedicated to their jobs. I'm fine with being out-of-pocket for the duration, but grateful that most of my folks will still be able to tend to their families.
Being "a defense contractor by choice" means you are getting paid from the same bucket of tax-payer funds that I am (and the same as when we were active duty) - I fail to see the distinction and if that makes me an "assumptive dimwit" I'll bear the name with the same pride that Ted Cruz wears his latest sobriquet.
That said, thanks and God Bless for your service - I came in in '74 and was never put in harms way as part of my duties.