The Air Force Academy has faced one of the most uncomfortable consequences of the government shutdown: a toilet paper shortage.
Fortunately, the problem was fixed, but it renews the debate over who exactly the "non-essential" employees are during a government shutdown.
"We're not always aware at a high level who has the contracts with the toilet paper but we found out pretty fast and we fixed it,” said Superintendent of the Air Force Academy Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson during a press conference.
Johnson added that some 20 percent of courses at the Academy had been suspended because of furloughed teachers.
"It’s unfortunate that there’s a bureaucratic term for our colleagues of 'non-essential,' because it couldn’t be more wrong about what we rely on. And, it’s an accounting term that we’ve used, but it certainly does not apply to the worth of our colleagues, from very basic things to even grander things," Johnson said.
Similar to the almost-toilet-paper-crisis, Saturday's Air Force-Navy football game was nearly cancelled, but the game went on after a private donation from the USAA.
Colorado Springs is home to the USAA and was identified as the city that would be most affected by the government shutdown by The Washington Post.
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