Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visited Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Tuesday as part of his three-day military facilities tour to better acquaint himself with staff and installations during a period of military furloughs and cutbacks.
The Department of Defense was subject to a $37 billion cut from March to September because of sequestration.
Hagel was apologetic for the staffing reduction but warned more reductions could happen if a change isn’t made.
“I don’t like to come out and tell people that they are going to lose 20 percent of their pay,” he said.
“It’s the last thing I wanted to have happen. There is nothing good about that,” Hagel said.
Beginning July 8, about 6,900 civilian employees at NAS Jacksonville were required to take 11 furlough days by Sept. 21. That equates to about 20 percent of the employees’ pay.
Of about 20,000 employees at the base, about 6,000 are federal employees and 2,500 are civilian contract employees.
“We’ve had to tighten our belts and our budgets. It’s very difficult meeting financial obligations right now,” said Dora Quinlan, Fleet Readiness Center Southeast business office director.
Quinlan was among the 100 employees invited to a town hall meeting with Hagel at the center.
“What I hear from the employees is that it’s difficult not meeting the mission to the degree they are used to, only being able to put in your 32 hours when the mission still calls for 40,” she said.
Quinlan said the cuts also might contribute to a reduction in the skilled staff needed to maintain the military’s readiness. People close to retirement and facing furloughs will choose retirement earlier, which will cause an experience loss, she said. Money is spent to replace them, but typically people with the least amount of experience are the first to be furloughed, which also causes a difficult situation, she said.
Hagel shares the same concerns.
“You can’t buy back readiness,” he said.
Among his destinations at NAS Jacksonville were stops at one of its newer aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon, and the commissary.
As part of the furloughs, commissaries are closed Mondays. If they were already closed Monday, they also are closed Tuesday, according to the NAS Jacksonville website.
Hagel said he hopes the department can fare better in fiscal 2014, but another budget cut looms as Congress makes fiscal considerations.
“If sequestration continues and we go into 2014 and we are subject to a $52 billion cut, it’s going to affect everything,” said Hagel.
He said that while “no component of our force structure” will be unaffected, NAS Jacksonville is a vital part of the nation’s security structure.
He wouldn’t comment on the status of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier being stationed at Naval Station Mayport.
“(Jacksonville is) going to be doing fine. The carrier is not going to show up next week. You’ve got three big amphibious boats coming in here soon, and this is a vital part of our national security structure and it’s going to remain that,” said Hagel.
He said the department is considering how to do more with less and that a strategic review was recently completed.
“Our top responsibility is the safety and security of this country. Will we be doing that with less resources? Yes. We are doing that now,” said Hagel.
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