Shutdown impacts Oklahoma reserve component units

  • Published
  • By Maj. Jon Quinlan
  • 507th Air Refueling Wing Public Affiars
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Members of the reserve component here in Oklahoma are feeling the effects of the government shutdown as officials in Washington continue to work on a deal to re-open the government.

For the 507th Air Refueling Wing, 137th ARW, Oklahoma Air National Guard and 513th Air Control Group the immediate impact was felt by the cancellation of the October air reserve component's weekend drills which are formally called "Inactive Duty Training".

There are around 850,000 total personnel nationwide in the selected reserve and they are among those most affected by the partial shutdown. Selected reservists are those units so essential to wartime missions they are required to continue training each month to maintain proficiency. The units also train an additional two weeks a year.

"These inactive duty periods are not authorized during the shutdown, unless they are supporting certain critical activities or future deployments," one senior official said.

On Oct. 1, many Air Force civilian personnel were placed on emergency furlough due to government shutdown, which included over 2,900 Tinker employees. Of those, over 250 were full-time reserve Airmen and civilians in the 507th ARW and 513th ACG, with 179 Oklahoma ANG personnel furloughed in the 137th ARW. Some employees were considered excepted civilians and they continued working after the shutdown.

Immediately after President Barack Obama signed the Pay Our Military Act into law, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel directed DOD's Acting General Counsel to determine whether he could reduce the number of civilian personnel furloughed due to the shutdown. On Oct. 7th most civilian employees were recalled back to work due to guidance received from the Secretary of Defense.

The act has provided relief from some of the shutdown, but much of the guard and reserve training is restricted, which impacts reservists as many of the part-time members are not authorized to work. Units are unable to bring traditional reservists or Guardsmen into work unless their duties are considered an "excepted" activity.

"While this is a very difficult time for us, we are committed to taking care of our members," Col. Russell Muncy, 507th ARW commander said. "We depend on every member of Team Oklahoma. These citizen Airmen are vital to maintaining our unit's readiness. Going forward, we are prioritizing authorized training to maximize that readiness."

Flying operations in the 507th and 137th ARW's have slowed significantly, but a handful of missions continue as some air refueling missions are considered "excepted" activities and are required for readiness. In the meantime, full-time ARC employees working during the shutdown are focusing on administrative duties and excepted activities which aid the morale, well-being, capabilities and readiness of their units. However, not having the capability to bring the majority of unit reservists and guardsmen on duty may affect unit readiness.

"There are restrictions on who we can bring out on orders, so our part-time members are feeling the biggest impact," Muncy said. "As most of our unit is made up of part-time reservists, that is a huge impact."

National Guard units also have state missions, and the lack of appropriations also affects their ability to perform those jobs, according to National Guard officials.

"No National Guard units are able to perform Inactive Duty Training during the shutdown unless it's in support of a mobilizing unit," Col. Max Moss, Oklahoma National Guard spokesmen said. "If our guardsmen aren't able to drill for, say, the entire month of October, that will be a direct loss of money used to pay their bills. You can be sure that our soldiers and airmen are watching the news like everyone else and waiting for it to be resolved, and when it is, they'll have their drill rescheduled." (Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service, contributed to this report)