Civilian furlough to begin

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class John Linzmeier
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  More than 500 Department of Defense civilian employees at McConnell Air Force Base will be subject to an 11-day furlough beginning July 8, 2013.

The furlough will contribute to a DOD-wide plan help conserve approximately $5 billion.

"This is the first time in my career I have gone through this," said Krista Jackson, 22nd Force Support Squadron civilian personnel officer, "and I have been here for 39 years."

The furlough, which was first proposed to take effect for 22 days and later revised to 14, is now slated to be 11 days total.

"Team McConnell absolutely values our civilian workforce," said Col. Joel Jackson, 22nd Air Refueling Wing commander. "Getting through this furlough will be hard and will require a great amount of resilience by everyone affected, but our civilian workforce will continue to be a great military asset at McConnell and throughout the Air Force."

Approximately $1.3 million is intended to be saved base wide from the civilian furlough alone. About $2,600 lost for each civilian affected, said Krista Jackson.

For mission-readiness purposes, both the Child Development Center workers and the sexual assault response team will be exempt from the furlough.

"Most military organizations have civilian [employees]," said Krista Jackson. "When they are not around, it will be up to the military workers to pick up the additional workload."

Many of the GS-12's on base are advisers to commanders here. If they need assistance from us on a furlough day, by law, we are unable to help them or answer email, she added.

The impact of the furlough will be felt base wide. Of the 520 employed civilians, only 17 will be unaffected.

"The furlough doesn't necessarily mean that we won't be able to get the job done," said Stephen Matthews, 22nd Civil Engineering Squadron deputy civil engineer, "it will just make it a little more challenging."

Dependant on the office affected, furlough days may be staggered throughout the duty week to lessen the impact on productivity.

"The biggest scheduling challenges are on the 24-hour operations," said Matthews. "A team of 16 must be available 24/7 at the fire department. We have to look very carefully at the schedule to make sure that we are meeting those minimum requirements, and that goes for security forces as well."

In addition to 520 McConnell civilians being furloughed, other base agencies and business will be furloughed as well, affecting hours of operation.

The base commissary will be closing one additional day each week, beginning July 8 until Sept.

Beginning July 6, the McConnell AFB Visitor Center and pass and registration, will change business hours to 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The contractor ID office will be open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. These offices will only be open one weekend a month to support the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve rotations.

For anyone needing assistance throughout the furlough, ranging from financial issues to emotional support, there are several agencies available to provide aid. Click here for a list of helping agencies.