Some furloughed Delaware employees are back to work

 (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

(AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Nearly a thousand furloughed military personnel are back to work in Delaware today.

The Dover Air Force Base welcomed back 500 civilian workers and the Delaware National Guard called 335 technicians into work this morning after it was determined they could work through the “Pay our Military Act.”

DAFB spokeswoman Lt. Mesha Nelson said the base’s library and health and wellness center are back up and running and the commissary and museum will re-open tomorrow.

The workers are “promised” pay at some point, but it’s unclear when they’ll see a paycheck.

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

Lt. Col. Len Gratteri of the Delaware National Guard said while they’re happy to have the workers back, morale remains low because they’re running out of resources and have to cancel some plans.

“We don’t have money to conduct operations, said Gratteri. “We can’t send people away to training, to schooling, we can’t purchase fuel, we can’t purchase maintenance parts, and we can’t purchase office supplies.”

Gratteri added that they’ve canceled their monthly training which will affect 2,700 in the guard. He said that could effect certain certifications and hamper the ability for some to progress through the ranks.

Booth the guard and DAFB are hopeful things will get straightened out in Congress soon.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal