Most federal workers around San Antonio were told to go home today, including most of the civilian personnel involved in military operations. That includes military intelligence, which is based in San Antonio.
The Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency does not reveal the ratio of civilian workers to military personnel, but it has almost 20,000 total staffers across the globe. Today, the agency is minus 86 percent of its civilian workforce at its headquarters in San Antonio, and a similar number worldwide.
Capt. Andrew Caulk, spokesman for the ISR Agency, who is prohibited from releasing exact information, did say the number of civilians being furloughed is in the thousands.
Caulk said the agency is concerned about federal workers whose jobs depend on their security clearance and don’t know when their next paycheck may arrive, which could force them to default on debts and could then affect their security clearance.
"Financial delinquency can be a consideration for future security clearances, including a periodic reinvestigation that happens every so often to ensure that security clearances are still valid," Caulk said.
Thanks to a last-minute bill passed late Monday, military personnel will continue to receive their paychecks with no delays. However, civilians who are still on duty continue to accrue their salaries, but will not receive that pay until the government works out a spending plan.
