Nearly 2,300 civilian employees at Offutt Air Force Base are without work or pay due to the government shutdown that started Wednesday.
Most of the base’s civilian employees are furloughed, meaning they aren’t working or getting their paychecks as lawmakers try to pass a spending bill.
Kris Pierce, chief of public affairs at the base, said Offutt’s active military personnel and fewer than 25 civilian employees, including himself, are still showing up to work through the furlough but won’t get paid until after Congress passes a bill.
The base’s 6,400 military personnel are filling in the gaps where they can, in addition to their normal duties, such as getting the RC-135V Rivet Joint reconnaissance jet airborne, which Pierce said relies on civilian support.
“So in those critical positions, many times our uniformed military members that are still working full time have to not only do their missions, but also have to fill in some of those critical civilian gaps that have been created due to the furlough,” he said.
Pierce said Offutt’s military personnel are committed to completing the base’s mission just as they did before the government shutdown, but the job gets harder the longer they go without the support from the civilian workforce.
The U.S. Department of Defense furloughed 334,904 employees, or about half its civilian workforce.
“We hope that Congress creates a solution, because our civilian workforce wants to come back, the civilian workforce is critical to completing this mission,” Pierce said.
Impacted employees have access to various support options, such as filing for unemployment benefits and assistance through the Air Force Aid Society and the Red Cross.
Additionally, some banking institutions, such as USAA, Navy Federal Credit Union, and Marine Federal Credit Union, in the past have advanced military pay to their customers during government shutdowns.
“They may not be working, may not be receiving a paycheck, but they still have family obligations,” Pierce said.
justin.diep@owh.com, 402-444-1304, www.x.com/Justin_Diep_
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