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Furloughs squeeze JBLM

How mandated furloughs affect the base

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Over the lastfour months, the Department of Defense has waited anxiously to see if Congress and the president could agree on a plan to reduce the federal deficit and therefore avoid furloughing government civilian employees. Unfortunately, that decision was never reached and, as a result, the DoD is being forced to cut $46 billion over the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends Oct. 1.  

Starting July 8, and continuing for the next 10 weeks through Sept. 30, services and offices at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Madigan Army Medical Center will be subject to mandatory closures and reductions in staff; the furloughs will affect approximately 10,000 employees across the base.

The following is a list of changes to expect:

Military Personnel Division, Waller Hall, Lewis-Main will be closed for customer service on Fridays, to include in/out processing, retirement services, finance, pass and ID offices, and the Soldier Readiness Center.

The Provost Marshall, Waller Hall office will be closed Fridays for vehicle or weapons registration and installation access.  

Military Personnel Section, Bldg. 100, McChord Field, will have limited services on Fridays.

The Stone, Hawk and McChord Education Centers will collectively close for academic advising, testing, computer labs and administrative services on Fridays. The colleges and universities will remain open and classes will be held as scheduled.

Off-base housing offices, as well as barracks/dormitory services, will be closed on Fridays, but Equity Residential (for on-base housing) will maintain regular business hours.

Commissaries on Lewis-Main and McChord Field will be closed on Mondays.

Emergency services - the 911 Center and Fire Department - will continue to provide 24/7 operations, but supervisory/administrative staff levels will be reduced.

Army Community Services' customer service will be closed on Fridays, to include the Exceptional Family Member Program, Survivor Outreach Services, McChord Field Airmen and Family Readiness Center, Financial Readiness Program and Family Resource Center.

Joint Personal Property Shipping Offices (JPPSO) will remain open regular operating hours, but walk-in customers may experience wait times upwards of two hours. Also, booking of shipments for PCS, ETS, retirement, or deployment may be delayed.

The MAMC Emergency Room will remain open 24/7.

Madigan outpatient pharmacy will be closed on Saturdays, July 13-Sept. 28; Mini-Mall pharmacy will be closed on Tuesdays, July 9-Sept. 24; Pharmacy drive-through will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Madigan Family Medicine, Okubo Clinic & Winder Clinic will be closed for routine care on Fridays, July 12-Sept. 27.

Madigan Family Medicine will open Fridays for acute care patients, by appointment only.

Puyallup Clinic & South Sound Clinic will be closed Fridays, July 12-Sept. 27.

McChord Medical Clinic will remain open five days a week; patients may experience longer wait times.

Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, OB/GYN Clinic, Radiology and Laboratory at MAMC will remain open five days a week; patients may experience longer wait times.

For other specialty care clinics, patients are encouraged to call the general appointment line (800-404-4506) to see what appointments are available.

TRICARE Service Centers will remain open Monday through Friday; MAMC service center, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; McChord Clinic service center, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Waller Hall service center, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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