Dr. Kiron Skinner on how shutdown will affect US military
CMU prof. discusses the impact of the government shutdown
U.S. troops stationed overseas found out Saturday that the government shutdown might have an unexpected impact on them: It might block them from seeing telecasts of Sunday’s NFL conference championship games.
Servicemen and women took to Twitter to share an unusual message on their TV screens provided by the American Forces Network.
Display nothing; This is on Publish with no configured ImageThe network enables U.S. service members around the world to watch American TV, but with the government shutdown underway, the service was cut off.
AFN has received complaints because service was not cut off during the 2013 government shutdown, the New York Daily News reported.
The NFL has stepped in to offer free access to the games for the troops using NFL Game Pass.
Brian McCarthy, NFL public relations director, tweeted out where military members could access the service. But it may offer only a partial solution to soldiers' football craving: The USO centers where it will be provided are not accessible to all troops, Yahoo Sports reported.
Both the AFC and NFC conference championships are scheduled for Sunday. The Jacksonville Jaguars will play the New England Patriots for the AFC title at 3:05 p.m., then the Minnesota Vikings will play the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC title at 6:40 p.m.
The two winners will clash in Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis on Feb. 4.