MAY 15, 2013 — Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel yesterday sent a memorandum directing furloughs of 11 days for most Department of Defense civilian employees. However, an attachment to the memo said: "Employees in Navy shipyards will be excepted from furlough because it would be particularly difficult to make up delays in maintenance work on nuclear vessels and these vessels are critical to mission success. All other depot employees, whether mission-funded or working capital fund employees, will be subject to furlough."

The attachment also said that Department of the Navy CIVPERS (civilian personnel) at sea and CIVMARS (civil service mariners) will be subject to furlough on return from deployment.

In a communication to civilian employees, Secretary Hagel said: "After extensive review of all options with the DoD's senior military and civilian leadership on how we address this budget crisis, today I am announcing that I have decided to direct furloughs of up to 11 days for most of the department's civilian personnel. I have made this decision very reluctantly, because I know that the furloughs will disrupt lives and impact DoD operations. I recognize the significant hardship this places on you and your families.

"After required notifications, we will begin the furlough period on July 8 at the rate of one furlough day per week for most personnel. We plan to continue these furloughs through the end of the current fiscal year. If our budgetary situation permits us to end furloughs early, I would strongly prefer to do so. That is a decision I will make later in the year.

"Furloughs for 11 days represent about half of the number we had originally planned, reflecting the department's vigorous efforts to meet our budgetary shortfalls through actions other than furlough. There will be exceptions driven by law and by the need to minimize harm to the execution of our core missions." For example, all employees deployed or temporarily assigned to a combat zone will be excepted from furloughs.

Read the memorandum HERE