SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL SAYS EFFECTS OF SHUTDOWN CONTINUE

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Shutdown Over, But Effects on DOD Continue, Hagel Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2013 - The government shutdown is over, but it will take a while for the effects to fade, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said here today.
At the shutdown's height, more than 400,000 Defense Department civilian employees were furloughed because of the lapse of appropriations for the new fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. The Pay Our Military Act allowed the department to bring most back to work Oct. 7. The rest -- about 5,000 -- came back to work today.
"While all of us across the department welcome the fact that the shutdown is now behind us, I know that its impact will continue to be felt by all of our people," Hagel said at a Pentagon news conference. "All of them, in different ways, had their lives affected and disrupted during this period of tremendous uncertainty."

All DOD leaders will work to repair the damage from the shutdown, the secretary vowed.

"I want all of our civilian personnel to know that the work they do is critically important to this department and this country," Hagel said. "It matters to this department, and it matters for the country. The military simply cannot succeed without our civilian employees, and the president and I appreciate their professionalism and their patience throughout this very trying period."

While the department must refocus on critical work, Hagel noted, Congress did not remove the shadow of uncertainty cast over DOD.

"DOD is now operating on a short-term continuing resolution, which limits our ability to start new programs, and the damaging cuts of sequestration remain the law of the land," the secretary said.

The continuing resolution passed last night gives Congress the chance to craft a balanced long-term spending bill, Hagel said.

"If this fiscal uncertainty continues, it will have an impact on our economy, our national security, and America's standing in the world," he added. "If the sequester level continues, there will also be consequences." The cuts could be devastating to training and to maintaining and equipping the force, he said.

"DOD has a responsibility to give America's elected leaders and the American people a clear-eyed assessment of what our military can and cannot do after years of sequester-level cuts," Hagel said. "In the months ahead, we will continue to provide our best and most honest assessment as Congress works to establish the nation's long-term spending priorities."

The secretary said he is concerned about civilian morale.

"I don't think anyone questions that the uncertainty that shutting down the government and closing down people's jobs has brought a great amount of not only disruption to our government, to our country, but to their lives, to the civilian personnel whose lives have been disrupted by this particular shutdown," he said.

Combined with no authorization, no appropriation, continuing sequestration and the uncertainty of planning, this creates a perfect stew for bad morale, Hagel said.

"People have to have some confidence that they have a job that they can rely on," he explained. "I know there are no guarantees in life, but we can't continue to do this to our people -- having them live under this cloud of uncertainty."

If this continues, he added, DOD will not be able to recruit good people.

The government shutdown and the nation's debt limit problem are making American allies nervous as well, the secretary said.

"Our allies are asking questions: Can we rely on our partnership with America? Will America fulfill its commitments and its promises?" he said. "These are huge issues for all of us, and they do impact our national security and our relationships and our standing in the world."

NATIONAL GUARD FEELS IMPACT FROM SHUTDOWN

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
National Guard Faces the Shutdown
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2013 - National Guard personnel are feeling the effects of the government shutdown and leaders are worried about the readiness of the component, Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, the vice chief of the National Guard Bureau said today.

The Pay Our Military Act has mitigated some of the effects of the partial government shutdown for the Guard, but there are still concerns, the general said.

The act does not allow for drill training periods, unless the drill is in support of an excepted activity such as preparing for an overseas deployment, he said. "Most October drills are canceled, impacting nearly 400,000 National Guard members," Lengyel said. "These drill periods are critical to maintaining the training and preparedness of our citizen soldiers and airmen – nearly 85 percent of our force."

For individual Guardsmen canceling drills means a loss of pay. For units it means degrading the readiness needed to respond to homeland and overseas missions.

Not all units are impacted. "Units preparing for deployment are not affected by the government shutdown," Lengyel said. "The National Guard is now the best-trained and best-equipped force in our history. We are indispensable to both domestic and overseas operations. It would be extremely unfortunate to this nation if our readiness is allowed to atrophy."

The shutdown is delaying some training deployments, the general said, but it will not affect Guardsmen's ability to deploy for actual, real-world missions.

The National Guard responds to emergencies within the United States. Recent activities included providing assistance to local authorities during flooding in Colorado, aiding in fighting wildfires in the West and preparing for storms in the East. Guardsmen and civilians who work for the Guard remain on call despite the shutdown. "During the lapse of appropriations, DOD civilians who support the military in support of the preservation of life and protection of property were allowed to continue working," Lengyel said.

When Tropical Storm Karen threatened the Gulf Coast, the Guard worked with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to authorize the recall of up to 2,200 additional National Guard military technicians to assist with disaster response actions. "The department has now recalled additional categories of civilians as defined by the Pay Our Military Act," he said.

The initial shutdown furlough impacted more than 40,000 dual-status military technicians. These men and women are civilian employees during the week and drilling Guardsmen. "They provide critical support that makes it possible for traditional Guard soldiers to train and operate, such as performing day-to-day equipment maintenance, managing pay and other administrative functions," the general said.

Under POMA, DOD was able to recall additional categories of civilians, leaving the National Guard with nearly 250 dual-status technicians still on furlough. "While this is a positive development, there is still more work to be done in order to get everyone back to work," he said.

UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE HALE WANTS CONGRESS TO END SHUTDOWN

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Hale Calls Shutdown 'a Tragedy,' Urges Congress to End It
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2013 - The lapse in appropriations that triggered the government shutdown "is a tragedy," and a "colossal waste of time" DOD's comptroller told the House Armed Services Committee today.

Under Secretary of Defense Robert F. Hale described for lawmakers how the department has implemented the Pay Our Military Act, which has mitigated some aspects of the shutdown. The act, passed September 30, took some days for DOD officials to examine and implement.

Hale described the steps the department took to prepare for the shutdown. On September 25, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter issued a memo on shutdown triggered by the lapse in appropriations defining excepted activities. Under the law such activities are related to military operations and safety to life and protection to property.

"Once the lapse occurred we have no authority ... except to follow this guidance," Hale said.

Under the guidance, active duty military personnel continued in their normal status. Commanders and managers identified DOD civilians who worked primarily on excepted activities.

"These excepted civilians continued working after the lapse," Hale said. "All others were placed on emergency no-notice furloughs."

Reserve component personnel on inactive duty were allowed to drill only if the drills were in support of excepted activities such as readying for deployment to Afghanistan.

All told around 400,000 DOD civilians were placed on furlough.

"They will be paid only if Congress passes separate legislation," Hale said. "Military personnel and excepted civilians continued to work and they are guaranteed to be paid. In [the] reserves they can't be paid until after the lapse ends."

This was the situation before the Pay Our Military Act was implemented. POMA is an appropriations act, Hale said. It guarantees pay and allowances for those on active service.

"DOD can now pay active duty military personnel on time and in full, even ... if the lapse continues beyond the active duty payday," he said.

The act also allows pay and and benefits for excepted civilians in full and on time, he said.

It further provides pay and benefits for civilians in other categories, and this allowed the department to call back many civilians "who most directly served the members of the armed forces," Hale said. Lawyers concluded the act did not allow a blanket recall.

Department leaders conducted a review to identify the DOD civilians that fell within the act's purview.

"That review focused on the degree to which civilians aided the morale, well-being, capabilities and readiness of members of the armed forces," Hale said.

Excepted personnel fell into this category. The department recalled civilians who provide day-to-day support, like health care providers, family support, some repair and maintenance, commissary workers and payroll activities.

Another group of civilians who provide longer term support were also recalled. They include acquisition oversight, financial management, logistics, and a number of others.

"Finally, a category of civilians was identified whose work is highly valuable and necessary ... but it provides less direct support to military members," Hale said. "These civilians were not covered by POMA, and some remain on furlough."

They include chief information officer staff functions, public affairs officers except internal communications personnel, legislative affairs, deputy chief management officer, auditors, and related functions, as well as personnel providing support to non-DOD personnel.

More than 95 percent of DOD civilians who were on furlough were recalled, and most were back to work by October 7th.

Still, the lapse of appropriations is having serious adverse effects on DOD, Hale said.

"Despite our very best efforts, there are already some limited adverse effects on the war in Afghanistan," he said. While military operations are excepted, "we no longer have authority to make ... the Commander Emergency Response Program payments."

CERP funds are used to pay Afghans compensation for deaths or damage, or other events.

"They are key to continuing a responsible drawdown in Afghanistan," Hale said.

Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the International Security Assistance Force commander in Kabul, has expressed his strong concerns on the situation.

"But we have not yet identified a legal way to make these payments during a lapse of appropriations," Hale said. "We're trying our best."

The lapse continues to erode reserve component training and readiness. Weekend drills have been halted. The National Guard has canceled around 100,000 drills in the first weekend; the reserves canceled around 75,000 drills.

Active duty personnel are also hit in training and readiness accounts.

"The lapse forces us to waste a good deal of the public's money," Hale said. "About 400,000 DOD civilian personnel on furlough did not work for four days. That's roughly $600 million in services that we lost in support of national security objectives."

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL SAYS MOST DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CIVILIANS RECALLED FROM FURLOUGHS

Hagel Announces Recall of Most Defense Department Civilians
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced today he is recalling most of the Defense Department civilians who were placed on furlough as a result of the government shutdown which began Oct. 1.



"Today, I am announcing that most DOD civilians placed on emergency furlough during the government shutdown will be asked to return to work beginning next week," he said.



"Immediately after President [Barack] Obama signed the Pay Our Military Act into law, I directed DOD's acting general counsel to determine whether we could reduce the number of civilian personnel furloughed due to the shutdown," Hagel said.



The Defense Department, he said, consulted closely with the Department of Justice, which expressed its view that the law does not permit a blanket recall of all civilians.



"However, DOD and DOJ attorneys concluded that the law does allow the Department of Defense to eliminate furloughs for employees whose responsibilities contribute to the morale, well-being, capabilities and readiness of service members," Hagel said.



"Consequently, I am now directing the military departments and other DOD components to move expeditiously to identify all employees whose activities fall under these categories," he said.



Hagel noted he expects the military departments to be able to "significantly reduce – but not eliminate – civilian furloughs under this process."



"Employees can expect to hear more information from their managers starting this weekend," he added.



The defense secretary said the department has tried to "exempt as many DOD civilian personnel as possible" from furloughs, and will continue to try to bring all civilian employees back to work as soon as possible.



"Ultimately, the surest way to end these damaging and irresponsible furloughs, and to enable us to fulfill our mission as a department, is for Congress to pass a budget and restore funds for the entire federal government," Hagel said.



"This has been a very disruptive year for our people – including active duty, National Guard and reserve personnel, and DOD civilians and contractors," he said. "Many important activities remain curtailed while the shutdown goes on."

Civilians under furlough, Hagel said, face the uncertainty of not knowing when they will receive their next paycheck.



"I strongly support efforts in Congress to enact legislation to retroactively compensate all furloughed employees," he said.



"And I will continue to urge Congress to fulfill its basic responsibilities to pass a budget and restore full funding for the Department of Defense and the rest of the government," Hagel said.