The local impacts of the federal government shutdown were partially mitigated as of Monday, Oct. 7, when the Smokey Point Commissary at the Navy Support Complex in north Marysville reopened, and all 43 furloughed civilian employees of Naval Station Everett returned to work.

Cmdr. Jeff Caulk, executive officer of Naval Station Everett, explained that some furloughed civilian employees had been excepted from being recalled to work, but none of Naval Station Everett’s 43 civilian employees fell under that exception.

“We basically have three categories of civilian employees now — those who were furloughed, those who were recalled from their furloughs to return to work, and those who were excepted from that recall,” Caulk said on Oct. 7. “All those workers who were recalled to work this morning will be paid from now through this pay period, but we’re still waiting for direction on how the various categories of civilian employees might be paid for Oct. 1-4.”

Among the complications that Caulk cited was how civilian employees might be paid for the time that they reported to work until they received their furloughs on Monday, Oct. 1.

“It’s still not business as usual, but we’re definitely happy to see these people are back to work,” Caulk said. “We’re getting back into our normal routine.”

Capt. Christopher Larsen of the 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, a U.S. Army Reserve unit headquartered in north Marysville adjacent to the Navy Support Complex, likewise estimated that 81 of their more than 100 civilian employees, from throughout seven states, were recalled on Oct. 7.

“For our facility here, that adds up to about 20 folks,” said Larsen, who noted that the 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command also has more than 20 unfilled civilian employee jobs that were vacated before the furloughs had even begun. “And of course, the process of interviewing, nominating and selecting any new employees can’t resume until the shutdown ends.”