A total of 1,207 civilian employees are being furloughed from the Minnesota National Guard Tuesday due to the federal government shutdown.
"Due to the government shutdown, Minnesota National Guard supervisors began informing military technicians this morning that they are furloughed until further notified," the guard said in a statement.
The statement said of the 2,100 full-time military support workers, "1,207 are military technicians who are furloughed." Military technicians are federal civilian employees who are also members of the Minnesota National Guard and wear military uniforms to work, a guard spokeswoman said.
Their jobs include human resources, mechanics, logsitics and telecommunications as well as leadership roles.
The majority of the technicians work at the Camp Ripley Training Center, the 133rd Airlift Wing headquartered in St. Paul and the 148th Fighter Wing headquartered in Duluth. The guard has facilities in 63 communities throughout the state.
The statement added:
"While the Minnesota National Guard is required by law to follow this Department of Defense furlough policy, it is important that the people of Minnesota know that our citizen -soldiers and -airmen remain ready to respond to state or federal emergencies."
The Minnesota National Guard's Facebook page posted a message from Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
