During the federal government shutdown, civilian employees at Oklahoma’s military installations were furloughed and not allowed to work, not even to respond to emails or telephone calls.
However, officials said routine military duties and operations continued uninterrupted.
Fort Sill Army post “Due to a lapse in federal appropriations, civilian employees of the Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill are currently furloughed and are not permitted to work, including responding to emails or phone calls. Normal operations will resume once funding is restored,” announced Bryan L. Araujo of Fort Sill’s Public Affairs Office.
“All ongoing projects will be suspended until government operations are reinstated,” he added.
In response to an inquiry from Southwest Ledger, Edward Muñiz, Public Affairs Director for the Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill, reported the following: “All service members continue to report to their place of duty and work during a government shutdown. Department of the Army civilians who support initial military training are ‘excepted’ employees and will continue to work during a government shutdown.
“Trainees will continue their Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training with no interruption.
“All Defense Commissary Agency and AAFES (shoppette) facilities are operating normally. And all dining facilities are operating normally.”
Reynolds Army Health Clinic remains open and continues to schedule appointments.
“We will do our best to minimize the impact on our beneficiaries who need health care during the shutdown,” RAHC posted in a message. “Your health and well-being remain our highest priority.”
No medical or dental appointments or procedures have been canceled. All ancillary services (pharmacy, laboratory, radiology) remain operational. “Please call 833286-3732 to schedule or cancel appointments.”
For questions about TRICARE during the shutdown, visit www.tricare.mil/shutdown.
Altus AFB At the very top of the Altus Air Force Base page was this declaration: “Due to the government shutdown, this website is not being updated.”
The only information posted on the Altus AFB website was issued by the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs on Sept. 30. It reported: Assistance to reduce the impact of the government shutdown on Airmen, Guardians, civilians and their families is available through various means. Those experiencing financial difficulties should contact their chain of command, who can provide more information on the financial aid organizations below.
• Compensation: The Military Leaders Economic Security Toolkit, located on the Military OneSource website, offers information and support. The site is updated regularly to reflect challenges and policy changes related to economic security.
• Unemployment Benefits: Furloughed employees are eligible to apply for unemployment benefits, but excepted employees working on a full-time basis are generally not eligible. Employees who wish to file should do so with the Unemployment Office for the state where the employee worked (i.e., last official duty station prior to furlough).
Please be advised that when employees receive retroactive pay they will be required to pay back any unemployment benefits received in accordance with State law. For more information, see OPM guidance and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees.
• Personal Financial Readiness: The Military and Family Readiness Center personal financial readiness program sustains and improves financial literacy and readiness by offering information, education, training and free personal financial counseling to Airmen, Guardians and their families. The DAF has also increased the number of Personal Financial Managers available to assist and enhance financial readiness and money management skills for members and their families.
The Air Force Aid Society continues to support emergent needs such as basic living expenses (e.g., food, rent/mortgage, utilities), vehicle expenses (e.g., payments, repairs, insurance) and childcare costs. Airmen and Guardians can submit requests through local Military and Family Readiness Centers and Airman and Family Readiness Centers.
If Airmen, Guardians or their families are not near an aid organization, they may seek financial assistance from the Red Cross.
Several banking institutions, such as USAA, Navy Federal Credit Union and Marine Federal Credit Union, have been known to advance military pay to their customers during government shutdowns. Contact your bank to inquire about their policies for situations like these.
• Food Insecurity: First sergeants and Military and Family Readiness Centers assist Airmen, Guardians and their families in need of food security-related grants and loans with referrals to programs such as U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Federal Subsistence Supplemental Allowance program and the Air Force Aid Society.
The FY22 National Defense Authorization Act established a Basic Needs Allowance. The BNA Program provides supplemental income for military members and dependents whose gross household income falls below 200% of federal poverty guidelines.
TRICARE: In response to the ongoing possibility of a government shutdown, the Defense Health Agency has authorized its TRICARE contractors to continue delivering health care to the 9.4 million beneficiaries of TRICARE. TRICARE beneficiaries seeking medical care from private providers should feel no significant effects. Care at military hospitals and clinics would remain largely unaffected. The TRICARE website includes current information about the impact of the shutdown on TRICARE health plans and military hospitals and clinics.
Vance AFB The only information posted on the website of Vance Air Force Base at Enid was this statement: “DUE TO THE LAPSE IN APPROPRIATIONS, THIS PAGE WILL NOT BE UPDATED REGULARLY UNTIL FULL OPERATIONS RESUME.” McAlester Army Ammunition Plant Southwest Ledger placed calls to two telephone numbers listed on the installation’s website; no one answered either call. Also, no information whatsoever was listed on the website about the government shutdown and how it affected the ammunition plant. Tinker AFB The most comprehensive notice of what was and what wasn’t available during the shutdown was posted on the Tinker Air Force Base website.
At Tinker, in the Oklahoma City metro area, Public Affairs for the 72nd Air Base Wing announced that the base “remains committed to sustaining national defense, supporting mission-essential operations, and ensuring the safety and readiness of its service members, civilian workforce, and families.”
Myriad services were not affected by the shutdown.
• Flying operations, depot maintenance, and national defense tasks continued uninterrupted.
• Aircraft launch, recovery, and air traffic control remained active.
• Law enforcement, fire, and emergency response were fully operational.
• Military treatment facilities, including pharmacy services, stayed open. Some routine care was limited, but only because of staffing and priorities.
• Service members continued performing assigned duties, even though their pay was expected to be delayed.
• Child Development Centers remained open, including before and after school care.
• The Commissary and Base Exchange remained open to authorized patrons.
• Vanwey Dining Facility remained open for regular hours.
• Gerrity Fitness Center stayed open around-theclock.
• Postal services functioned normally.
• The golf course, bowling alley, information, tickets and travel program, and FamCamp remained open.
• All services offered by the Tinker AFB chapel continued as normal.
• Finance and military personnel flight services continued, although wait times may have increased.
• Tinker’s Airman Leadership School continue its mission.
Services affected Non-exempt civilian employees were furloughed; essential or funded roles continued without pay until appropriations resume. Retroactive pay was guaranteed by law.
Contractors under fully funded contracts continued working.
The manpower office, civilian personnel office, Numbered Air Force Human Resources office were limited.
Legal services remained available with limited personnel.
The Inspector General continued operations with limited personnel.
Public Affairs website updates and social media posts were paused. The Team Tinker Photo Studio remained open under reduced manning, including passport photos and official portraits.
The Marketing Office was impacted.
Services at the Military Family Readiness Center and at the Force Development office were limited.
Education and Training offered limited services.
Outdoor Recreation equipment rental was open, and day trips proceeded as planned, but overnight trips were cancelled until further notice.
Arts & Crafts were minimally manned, and some programs and classes were rescheduled. All contracted classes continued normally.
The Auto Hobby Shop was minimally manned but remained open with limited self-help tasks such as oil changes. However, no brake jobs or motor repairs were available.
Services that were closed included Tinker Event Center, school liaison services, Unite, and the base library.