OCR Text |
Show 2 COMMENTARY Oct. 3, 2013 Hagel: National security assured during shutdown TIMES BY KAREN PARRISH American Forces Press Service -Ice 194f- Hilltop Times Editorial Staff: Charles Horton Standard-Examiner publisher Mary Lou Gorny Hilltop Times Editor Krista Starker Hilltop Times Correspondent Sarah Stoll Hilltop Times Correspondent Deadlines: Editorial and news items are due by noon on the Friday prior to the Thursday print date. To submit news items e-mail hilltoptimes@standard.net or call 801-625-4273. For Classified Advertising, call 801-625-4300. For Retail Advertising, call 801-625-4388. The Hilltop Times is published by Ogden Publishing Corp., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under, and in compliance with, a Memorandum of Understanding with Hill Air Force Base. The content of the Hilltop Times does not necessarily represent the views of, nor is it endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force or Hill Air Force Base (collectively, the Government). The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Government of the products or services advertised. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Standard-Examiner, 332 Standard Way, Ogden, Utah, 84404. Additional editorial content is provided by various military and civilian wire services and Hill Air Force Base public affairs departments. Call 801-625-4273 with story ideas or comments, or contact the editor, Mary Lou Gorny, at mgorny@standard.net . Call 801-6254300 for Classified Advertising or 801-6254388 for Retail Advertising. S FOUL, South Korea — The Defense Department and other government agencies responsible for national security will carry out their missions despite the government shutdown, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Oct. 1 in South Korea. The secretary, traveling in the Asia-Pacific this week for high-level meetings here and in Japan, sat down with reporters traveling with him to explain what is known, and what isn't, as nonessential government services are temporarily mothballed. The secretary said he left Monday night's state dinner honoring the U.S.South Korea alliance, at which he spoke, "a little early" for a teleconference with Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter, comptroller Bob Hale and acting general counsel Robert Taylor. During that conversation, he said, the four discussed possibilities for minimizing the shutdown's effects on some 400,000 civilian employees who will be furloughed. "Our uniformed military are taken care of" and will be paid, the secretary said, because President Barack Obama signed that exemption. Hagel said most Defense Department civilians who will be furloughed will receive official notification when they report to work today, and "will be asked to go home." Those who are exempt from the shutdown will remain at work and will be paid, he added. Government agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget, have issued guidance to the civilian workforce in recent weeks on how to implement a shutdown. Hagel said today the department is working to identify whether some civilians may be called back from furlough based on the nature of their duties, but he cautioned the question might not be answerable immediately. "Our lawyers are now looking through the law that the president signed ... to see if there's any margin here, or widening in the interpretation of the law of exempt versus non-exempt civilians," he said. "But it's a priority that we have, that we're working on right now. It's, in fact, the priority in our general counsel's office." Hagel was to again consult with other Pentagon leaders later Tuesday evening — Seoul is 13 hours ahead of Washington — to further manage the adjustments the shutdown forces on the department. The secretary noted he has been asked repeatedly by South Korean officials here why the shutdown occurred. Hagel, this Hagel week, called the action irresponsible, and he said today it affects "our relationships around the world." He added, "It cuts straight to the obvious question: can you rely on the United States ... to fulfill its commitments to its allies?" The secretary continued, "Here this great republic and democracy, the United States of America, shuts down its government. The Pentagon, even though we are exempted — our military — has no budget. We are still living under this dark cloud of uncertainty, not knowing what's going to happen." The shutdown affects missions around the world, the confidence of the nation's allies and planning for pending budget cuts, he said, but core missions will be carried out. "We're going to be able to fulfill our mission of keeping this country ... secure, we will fulfill our mission of maintaining the alliances we have and our troops in South Korea (and) Japan, and other treaty obligations," Hagel stated. He warned, however, that the shutdown casts a significant pall over America's credibility with its allies. "It is nonsensical ... it is completely irresponsible," the secretary said. "It's needless. It didn't have to happen. And I would hope that our Congress can find a new center of gravity of responsibility, and start to govern." Hagel said the shutdown "puts us all in a very difficult spot." A strong military is essential to the nation's security, he said, but civilian employees, not only in DoD, but across government, also play a vital role in that mission. "To think of what this is doing to these civilian employees and their families ... they've taken furloughs already this year — administrative furloughs," the secretary said. "Now we have legal furloughs. This is going to impact the future of a lot of our employees." Hagel said a number of senior DoD civilians have spoken to him in recent months about their future. "Their spouses are not happy; they have families — (they ask) how can we rely on a paycheck, how can we rely on a future ... when this is the way we're going to be treated?" He added, "And I don't blame them. That human dimension often gets lost in this great arena of debate in Washington — what we're doing to our people ... who make the government function." Without quality employees, he added, "you will have a dysfunctional system; a dysfunctional government. This is serious." Military and civilian leaders from himself and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — who is also in Seoul this week — on down have sent out messages this week to the military and civilian workforce and "are upset about" the shutdown, Hagel said. "When you take that number of civilian employees out of the mix of everyday planning and working ... you're going to impact readiness," he said. "There's no point in kidding about that. But (Americans) should not be concerned that their security is now in jeopardy. It is not; it will not be." Hagel said he tries to reassure civilian employees, but he knows the events of the last year haven't been "very reassuring to people who have begun to build very promising, important careers, and their families rely on that — their wives, their husbands, their children. To see this kind of uncertainty, now, become almost a regular dimension of their career is very unsettling, and I don't try to convince them otherwise." Hagel said he does believe "we will find a new center of gravity of governing in the United States of America; I think we are seeing an evolving new coalition of governance start to appear." It may take an election cycle or two for that evolution to take hold, Hagel said. "I do have confidence in our country," he said. "I do have confidence in our people ... (and) almost a uniquely American self-correction process. We can fix our own problems, and we always have." October is Energy Action Month HAWC Nest Fitness Tip tram the Health and Wellness Cantor BY DAVID ABBOTT Up to 12 weeks of FREE tobacco cessation medication is available to federal employees and up to 6 months is available for active duty, dependents and retirees when attending the tobacco cessation series. Call the Health and Wellness Center at 801-777-1215 for further information. Hill AFB Energy Management Office 0 ctober, Energy Action Month, provides an opportunity for Hill AFB Airmen to learn more about the impact of energy to the Air Force's mission as part of a national campaign led by the Department of Energy. This year's theme, "I am Air Force Energy," puts the Airman at the center of the campaign. The goal is to inspire the Total Force to be more efficient so they can give the Air Force an assured energy advantage in air, space and cyberspace. In coordination with this campaign the Hill AFB Energy Management Office is hosting Hill's first Energy Awareness Fair. The event will be held Oct. 9, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., at Building 412, Base Exchange Food Court. The energy awareness fair is designed to remind all of Team Hill to conserve our natural resources, and reduce our carbon footprint on the environment. All Airmen, civilians and base contractors are invited to visit with utility company representatives from Rocky Mountain Power, Questar Gas and Weber Basin Water Conservancy District. In addition, the Hill AFB Energy Office will welcome Hill's newest Energy Team member and mascot, Col. Conserve who will be reporting for duty. Col. Conserve's mission will be to foster an energy awareness culture. His message is, "You are the most powerful Power the Force. Fuel the Fight. 010 11111ft`ftft•rlOw I AM AIR FORCE ENERGY change agents the Air Force has to win this battle." Through individual day-to-day activities you are able to make the energy saving decisions that make a large impact on Hill's energy consumption. It is critical for Hill to do its part to meet our nation's energy consumption goals. THINK SAFETY Hill's Total 2013 DUIs: 20 Art AlJk/11.3T Hill's Last DUI: Report suspicious activity via the AFOSI EAGLE EYES program Dial: 777-3056 / 3057/ 3058. Watch — Report — Protect Force Protection is Our Business — Everyone is a Sensor N Unit Involved: 3,1r8 a Oftelaticom Sument Squad/ma Airmen Against Drinking and Driving provide rides when designated drivers are unavailable. Call 777-1111 to request a ride anytime. Hours of operation: Fridays-Saturdays 10 p.m.- 6 a.m. Sundays 9 p.m.-midnight. Phone numbers — The base agencies listed can be contacted directly if you have a complaint or a problem with their services: Security Forces 24-hr, Crisis Information Force Support Squadron Base Restaurants Retirement/Compensation (civilian) Equal Opportunity Office Employer Relations Military Pay Civilian Pay Air Force Suggestion Program 777-9696 777-3056 Hill Straight Talk 11 IG Complaints 777-5305 777-3056 777-4134 (for appointment) 777-2043 IG Complaints 777 - 5361 777-6142 (after hours) 777 - 5361 Fraud, Waste or Abuse 777-5455 777-7129 (recording) 1 - 877- 885 - 9595 777-1851 Loud Noise (complaints) 777-6246 777-4918 777-6901 75th Medical Group Civil Engineering 777-1856 Hill Pride Hotline 777-7433 Public Affairs 777-5333 Military Housing 825-9392 Maintenance Safety Office 777-3333 Safety Office Hotline 586-9300 Sexual Assault Response 777-1985 Coordinator (or) 777-1964 Union 777-3257 AFOSI Narcotics Hotline 777-1852 Family Assistance Center 777-3090 (when activated) SUICIDE PREVENTION ASSISTANCE Mental Health Clinic 777-7909 Chaplain 777-2106 Military OneSource (800) 342-9647 (800) 273-8255 National Suicide Prevention Line TriWest Crisis Line (866) 284-3743 TriWest Behavioral (866) 651-4970 Health Contact Center EAP (800) 222-0364 Occupational Medicine 777-1163 Services Wingman Advocates 777-2255 |