The Department of Defense (DOD) has given a reprieve to furloughed civilian employees, including the over 1,100 who work at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Originally scheduled for 11 straight weeks including furlough days, they only had to take six and are back fulltime as of August 11. Ron Cortopassi, 30th Space Wing executive director, said, impacts ranged “from employees expressing frustration and attempting to cope with a drop in efficiency, contracts worth millions of dollars being descoped, to reduced range launch availability.” The DOD is still looking at a $52 billion cut next fiscal year.
