Tagged: Ft. Knox

About 7,000 civilian workers at Fort Knox will be affected if federal cuts in defense spending take effect next Friday.

The News-Enterprise reports the workers would be furloughed one day each week for up to 22 weeks and lose about 20 percent of their pay.

Derek Avey, a civilian Fort Knox Garrison employee, says his family has made plans just in case.

"We'll make car payments and mortgage payments and those things, but going out to eat or catching a movie we may not do as often as we used to," the Elizabethtown resident said.

Officials at Fort Knox are weighing options on how to deal with potentially deep budget cuts without hurting essential functions.

Kyle Hodges, a spokesman for the Army post in Hardn County, told The News-Enterprise that no decisions have been made on whether layoffs or terminations would be needed. He said furloughs of civilian employees would be a drastic move.

"There has been no decision at this time for any Fort Knox Army civilians to be furloughed, as that is a tool of last resort that also requires approval of the Secretary of the Army," Hodges said in a statement.

Hodges said the post has been instructed by the Army to plan for financial impacts due to the possibility of deep federal cuts.

In case you missed it, Here and Now had an excellent conversation Thursday afternoon regarding the Pentagon's decision to allow female soldiers in official combat roles.

One of the guests was Maj. Candice Frost, who has served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, and is currently stationed at Ft. Knox, Ky.

Here's what Maj. Frost said when asked about concerns over whether female soldiers could meet the physical demands of being in combat:

“I had some outstanding soldiers who served for me when I was a company commander. And some of my soldiers did an outstanding job with rucksacks just as heavy as their male peers’. And were able to climb many of the same mountains, walk in the same footsteps that those male soldiers did. And were able to collect vital intelligence that served and actually saved lives of American soldiers and targeted Taliban forces. So I can say proudly that I have served with many women who have walked in those same footsteps of their male peers.”

Here and Now airs weekdays on WKU Public Radio at noon central, 1 p.m. eastern time.