Furloughs hurt workers, local economy, Westover mission Published July 22, 2013 By Lt. Col. James Bishop 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. -- Congressionally-mandated furloughs of more than 700 civilians locally and some 680,000 Department of Defense civilians worldwide began July 8 and are scheduled to continue through September. Civilians here are required to take 11 days of unpaid leave between July 8 and Sept. 30, resulting in a 20 percent pay reduction during that period. The furloughs were announced in mid-May. They are part of DOD-wide budget cuts due to the sequester. "We've been preparing for this - and though the number is less than the 22 originally planned, 11 days is 11 days too many," said Col. Steven Vautrain, 439th Airlift Wing commander. "I know furlough will impose a financial burden on all of us. We are a strong and resilient wing, and we'll get through this as we continue to perform our mission to the best of our abilities." The 700 civilians on base include about 450 dual-status Air Force air reserve technicians. Civilians and ARTs serve in nearly all base functions, from pilots to mechanics and firefighters. They also in operations, maintenance, aerial port, personnel, finance, public affairs, civil engineering, communications, security forces, medical, airlift control, aeromedical evacuation, and aeromedical staging. Even before the furlough, bases and communities saw the effects of sequestration: the Air Force implemented a hiring freeze, cut facility maintenance and repair, and canceled key public engagements, including all air shows, flyovers and most travel, according to Pentagon officials. The Air Force halted flying training for three months, until Congress approved a $1.8 billion reprogramming request, according to a July 15 Air Force News Story. "And now we are implementing furloughs, which will harm both morale and productivity and mission accomplishment," Pentagon officials said in a written statement. Locally, furlough effects began to be felt immediately. The following is a partial list of effects at Westover ARB. Personal Economy The 11 unpaid furlough days will cost Westover DOD civilians and technicians an estimated average salary loss of $3,780 per person, based on Fiscal Year 2012 Economic Impact figures of 11 lost days and one lost accrued leave day. Local Economy The base's economic impact in fiscal year 2012 was $238 million. The 20 percent loss of salary over nearly three months, along with the belt-tightening before and after, will result in an estimated 5 percent - $12 million - loss of cash-flow to the local economy. Mission * Minimal manning across the base on furlough days will affect all areas of Westover's mission: flying, maintenance, and all support functions. * The airfield weekend operation hours will be reduced, and the aircraft control tower's hours will be reduced by 6 ½ hours per day, affecting flying operations at Westover and at the adjoining civilian airport, Westover Metropolitan Airport. * Numerous weather programs will be curtailed and staff weather programs will lag. * The furlough significantly reduces the maintenance group's ability to repair aircraft. During the first week of furlough, the Aircraft Maintenance Squadron saw: - Three delays in aircraft recovery - Two home station checks (periodic maintenance checks) unable to be worked - Non-compliance of one aircraft during depot maintenance acceptance - Delayed maintenance on all aircraft. * In the maintenance squadron, the 20 percent decrease in work time means an aircraft in regularly-scheduled maintenance takes an estimated 4-5 days longer to go through Isochronal Inspection. * If an aircraft breaks on a core furlough day, other key programs will fall behind due to 20 percent loss in available work time. Those programs include evaluations, decorations, orders processing, civilian time cards, government purchase card, government travel card, and many others. "The end result," said Col. Kerry Kohler, 439th Maintenance Group commander, "is that C-5s are delayed getting back into the fight and mandatory programs are being degraded." * Though able to fly so far, the aeromedical evacuation squadron's support ability has been degraded. "The impact of the furlough is the great stress it's put our ART staff in providing the support for our unit members, processing orders, coordinating issues with other base and AFRC (Air Force Reserve Command) functions, etc.," said AES senior ART, Lt. Col. David Zamorski. He also noted that support to several dozen deploying members of his squadron will be delayed due to the furlough. * The base fire department will be staffed at 50 percent, reducing their ability to respond to aircraft fires on the massive C-5 and their ability to respond to mutual aid requests. * Although Westover is one of two aircraft live fire training areas in the state, it will have to curtail all outside fire department training, so civilian firefighters will no longer be able to obtain their Federal Aviation Administration certification here. * Because of the hiring freeze and furlough, Westover's ability to begin contract maintenance and repair projects is diminished. "Normally, at this time of year, many government contracting personnel will work up to 50 or 60 hours a week to complete government contracts and purchases before the close of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. Now they're limited to 32 hours per week," said base civil engineer Wayne Williams. This nearly 50 percent cut will negatively impact the local economy by reducing overall construction spending. * At the force support squadron, civilians and ARTs see a backlog of medals, performance reports and many other mandatory items that could impact Airman's careers due to slower processing times. * Customer support at FSS is closed on furlough days, which means they can't issue ID cards (except in an emergency). This impacts those needing ID cards for TRICARE benefits, etc. for active duty, reservists, retirees and disabled veterans. FSS produces 500-600 ID cards monthly. * On furlough days, the Airman and Family Readiness Center staff cannot provide emergency services for families of deployed Airmen and other emergency cases where people in crisis seek various forms of assistance. * The James Street Gate and the Visitor Control Center at the Main Gate will be closed on all furlough days. * The Pioneer Valley USO will be serving a free dinner each Monday evening to furloughed civilians and ARTs. * The base fitness center is no longer open on non-UTA weekends. * The base dining facility - which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to the base populace of about 5,500 men and women - will close on furlough days. * And of course, it's too early to track the effect on morale and retention. Even before sequestration, there was a readiness crisis in the Air Force, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III. The severe cutbacks required by the sequester will further downgrade force readiness beyond the current fiscal year if a budget agreement is not reached. "We can't just all of a sudden accelerate training and catch up," he said. "It costs up to 2 1/2 times as much to retrain a squadron as it does to keep it trained." Legal restrictions exist for furloughed employees. During furlough, employees are prohibited from performing work or acting as an unpaid volunteer. This includes coming to work, telework, attending training, using their Air Force issued laptops, or checking email or Blackberries while on furlough. Working during furlough time off violates Federal law and may result in disciplinary action against supervisors and employees. "We rely on our civilian Airmen to keep the Air Force in the fight," said Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning. "Their absence is felt across the board and it impacts our ability to accomplish the mission. General Welsh and I are committed to working with the Secretary of Defense to find a way to bring this disruptive furlough to an end if at all possible."