Sequestration impacts the 442d Fighter Wing Published March 8, 2013 By Brig. Gen. Eric S. Overturf 442nd Fighter Wing WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- I'm sure you've now seen the headline on the Air Force Times and other military-related publications. Sequestration will devastate military readiness, and commissaries are closing an extra day each week. Department of Defense schools will face loss of accreditation, and what will impact us the most - our full time force of air Reserve technicians and civilians will be potentially furloughed one day each week starting sometime in April until September. These furloughs do not apply to military pay, meaning that our traditional reservists and active-duty partners will not be furloughed, but make no mistake- the loss of 20 percent of our Reserve full-time force for almost six months will impact almost everyone and everything we do. I am hoping that our elected officials in Congress come together to provide a better solution to our nation's budgetary issues, but until that happens we have to focus on minimizing the harmful impact on our people while maximizing our mission capability. The first step in minimizing the impact on our people and their families is getting the word out. We haven't been told yet exactly how the sequestration cuts will be enacted, but I will notify you as soon as we find out. We have been told that the ART and civilians furloughs will not start until at least mid-April, and that no more than two days of furlough will occur during each two-week pay period between April and September. We will work with supervisors and the union to determine how to best distribute the furlough time within the restrictions we've been given. I recommend you check the following Air Force Reserve and portal websites to get the latest information on sequestration and its impact: http://www.afrc.af.mil/library/str8talk/index.asp https://www.my.af.mil/gcss-af/USAF/ep/globalTab.do?channelPageId=sA4057E1F3CE4E6AB013D02ED7E4902B1 Regardless of how sequestration is implemented, the bottom line will be a 20-percent reduction in civilian pay and a corresponding reduction in our capability to accomplish our mission. This will certainly impact our ability to train our Citizen Airmen and be ready to serve at a moment's notice. Our trainers, unit deployment managers, and supervisors - the majority of which are ARTs - will have to carry out our mission to Train and Deploy Combat-Ready Airmen at a reduced level with less money and less time. Across the base, this could mean longer wait times getting a new ID card and working with finance offices, checking out a book at the base library, or receiving services at the fitness center, installation pharmacy and child development centers. We can use military Reserve Personnel Appropriation (RPA) funding (like annual tour or mandays) during the furlough to accomplish mission-critical activities, but this will be entirely dependent on the availability of these funds. We are only funded through March 27 under the current budget continuing resolution (CR), so we won't know much money is allotted to us by Congress until we get a full year budget or another CR. As an eternal optimist, I hope there will be a long-term positive effect that will come from all of this, by forcing our nation to resolve our budgetary issues before we reach a crisis like other countries are going through. In the mean time, we'll handle this like we handle everything in the 442nd Fighter Wing - by working together to get the mission done and helping each other to take care of our Airmen and families. If any of this is going to make life more difficult for you and your families, please talk to our Airman & Family Readiness office, your first sergeant or the chaplains - there may be assistance available in certain situations. This is a difficult time, and no one is going through it alone. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication - I couldn't be more proud of the way this wing continues to excel despite these difficult circumstances.