Base commander discusses shutdown impact of 350 civilian furloughs

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt, Jake Barreiro
  • 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --  A press conference was held at the Little Rock Air Force Base University Center here Oct. 3, 2013, to talk about the effects the government shutdown has had on operations and personnel on base.

Col. Patrick Rhatigan, 19th Airlift Wing and installation commander, talked to the press during the meeting after the federal government in Washington, D.C., officially shut down Oct 1.

The shutdown resulted in 350 civilian employees on base being furloughed, or placed on unpaid leave.

"We're concerned about our 350 civilians who are currently furloughed," said Rhatigan at the press conference. "We rely on our civilians every day to keep the Air Force in the fight. This is a workforce we depend on to get our mission done, yet they are now facing a loss of pay for the second time this year."

Little Rock AFB typically employs 625 civilians and compensating for the loss of 56% of its civilian workforce has proven difficult, said Rhatigan. However, the wing commander stressed the importance of the base's mission.

"In the short term, our Airmen are covering-down, because quite simply, the mission cannot fail," he said. "But the long-term impacts of this shutdown remain to be seen. This is an unfortunate reality affecting all of Team Little Rock, and we are working hard to support each other, and remain hopeful for a swift resolution."

Rhatigan also answered questions during the press conference, responding to queries about covering the work of the 350 furloughed civilians, potential back pay for civilians and the status of training and flying operations on base.

On the topic of covering for the 350 civilians now missing from the base's workforce, Rhatigan said Airmen on base, still working through the shutdown, are now required to take on extra work.

"The positions themselves are open, but our Airmen are covering-down on their capability," he said. "So, all across the base, you'll see our Airmen stepping up, because that's what we do, because the mission cannot fail; we have to get airplanes in the air."

Potential back pay for civilians is an issue left for the federal government to decide, said Rhatigan, and while Airmen are expected to cover-down on the missing civilians work right now, he knows every employee is a valuable part of the base's Combat Airlift mission.

"We need every single civilian back to work, because rest assured, we do not have extra money and we do not have extra people; we need everyone to get the mission done," he said.

Rhatigan stressed the importance of Little Rock's mission and said there are no plans to halt flying the C-130s the base is renowned for or halting the training mission of the 314th Airlift Wing.

"Flying is continuing, flying training is continuing, and deployments are continuing," he said. "That is an absolute must. And we want to make sure that word gets out to everyone because the nation counts on us; we are going to get the mission done. "

A vital aspect of Little Rock's history has been its relationship with the local community. In recent years, this strong relationship has been ratified by the base winning the Abilene Trophy for community support in 2009 and 2011, and Rhatigan said the local community has shown out in force to support the base and its Airmen, civilian and military.

"I just wanted to thank you all for coming here and showing interest in all the Airmen and civilians at Team Little Rock," he said. "The local community has been hugely supportive. We've had a lot of business and banks reach out to us and say, 'What can we do to help?' So to all the small business owners out there, I appreciate the help you've offered and anything you can do to help our civilians and our Airmen during this uncertain time is much appreciated. Thank you all very much."