Our Army Reserve civilians have recently received their notification letters setting the administrative furlough requirement in motion. As we cross this "line of departure," I want to reinforce that sensitive nature of this action and the impact it has on the AR. Our civilian workforce remains critical to our overall mission accomplishment and the furlough will have a direct impact on all of us.
The furlough implementation requirements are important personnel actions. I expect all of our AR military and civilian leaders to be thoroughly familiar with these guidelines and to take extra care in the conduct of furlough matters. Of special note, there are very few members of the AR civilian workforce excepted from the furlough and additional requests for exceptions must meet a very high threshold of justification for approval. Our AR civilians deserve our best effort in the execution of these procedures and our full understanding of the effect of the furlough on their personal circumstances.
Executing this requirement reduces our weekly civilian workforce capacity by 20 percent though the end of the FY. The decline in capability and capacity cannot necessarily be made up by passing work on to our Soldiers. We must focus on doing "less with less" and substantially review and prioritize our routine and specific work requirements. It is up to our AR leaders to make tough choices and to determine what actions must be deferred as a consequence of this furlough. I expect our leaders to understand the AR's proprieties and to manage available personnel resources to support the most critical mission requirements.
I remain optimistic that our DoD leadership will be able to resolve the funding challenges and possibly reduce the number of required furlough days. In the meantime, I am confident in the strength of our leadership and in the professionalism of AR civilians. We will meet this challenge together "shoulder-to-shoulder" and we will take care of each other along the way. Rest assured that all of you, and your families, are in my thoughts during this trying time. Your well being remains my top priority.
Twice the citizen -- Army Strong
Jeffrey W. Talley
Lieutenant General, U.S. Army
Chief of Army Reserve
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