About 600 North Dakota National Guard technicians are being affected by the furloughs that resulted from the federal budget sequestration.
The furloughs will be in effect until the end of September. North Dakota National Guard Adjutant General David Sprynczynatyk (sprin-sin-attic) says that means the 600 will each be off work one day a week – without pay.
"It becomes a 20 percent reduction in pay, between now and the end of September," said Sprynczynatyk. "Unfortunately, the work still has to get done. So when they come back, it's not as though the work goes away."
Sprynczynatyk says he’s concerned about the morale of those Guard technicians. And he’s also concerned about how this might affect the Guard’s readiness.
"Their job is to insure the readiness of our forces to deploy where they're needed, whether to support the global war on terror or to respond to in-state natural disasters," said Sprynczynatyk. "My greatest concern, beyond my concern for the employees, is our state of readiness, and to insure that we will continue to be ready for whatever is asked of us."
Sprynczynatyk says he still hopes Congress will rescind the sequestration – so the Guard technicians can get back to full work weeks – and full pay.