Where to get information related to potential government shutdown Published April 8, 2011 By 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Due to the potential for a government shutdown, members assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, its associate and tenant units, and other members in transit are advised on several ways to get information they or their families need. A news story published by American Forces Press Service highlights a memo dated April 7 by Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III. In the memo, Mr. Lynn said the Defense Department is hopeful that a government shutdown will be averted, but is releasing guidance to help plan for an orderly process if a shutdown becomes necessary. "The president and the [Defense] Secretary [Robert M. Gates] know that the uncertainty of the current situation puts federal employees in a difficult position and are very much aware that a shutdown would impose hardships on our military and civilian personnel as well as our military families," Mr. Lynn wrote, adding that operations and activities essential to safety and to protect human life and property will not be shut down. Addressing duty status, Lynn wrote that military personnel are not subject to furlough and should report for duty during a shutdown. Civilian personnel performing excepted activities will continue to work during a shutdown, he wrote. On the topic of military, civilian and retiree pay, Lynn said if the government shuts down because of a lack of funding, DOD will have no funds to pay military members or civilian employees for the days during which the government is shut down. But military and civilian personnel will receive pay for time worked before the shutdown, he said, and military personnel and civilians in excepted positions will be paid retroactively for their work during the shutdown once the department receives additional funding. Members can go to a number of sources for information related to their needs, many of which can be found at the following page: http://www.af.mil/2011appropriationsinformation.asp. Some other helpful sites are below. For emerging official news on the topic of government shutdown as related to the Department of Defense, visit: http://www.defense.gov/. To see a list of questions and answers from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, visit: http://www.opm.gov/furlough/. To read frequently asked questions from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service Web site, click here: http://www.dfas.mil/downloads/shutdownfaq.pdf. For information on what aid may be available to Air Force members and families, visit: http://www.afas.org/. Finally, for further information or more personal assistance, deployed members here should use their chain of command and seek the help they may need.