Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is ordering most of the Defense Department's 400,000 furloughed civilian workers to return to work, a Pentagon official said Saturday.
The Pentagon was the department hardest hit by the furloughs of government workers triggered by the government's partial shutdown Tuesday. About half of the 800,000 federal workers who were forced to leave their jobs work for the Defense Department.
Associated Press Fans display signs on the government shutdown during the Navy-Air Force football game Saturday in Annapolis, Md.
The furloughs have created broad ripple effects across the military. The Air Force has halted training for many units not scheduled to deploy overseas any time soon. Scores of classes at military schools have been cancelled. Intelligence analysts and civilian policy advisers have been sent home. Bases across the country have shuttered commissaries.
Soon after the shutdown took effect, President Barack Obama signed a law ensuring that the 1.4 million active-duty service members around the world, including troops in Afghanistan, would continue to get paid.
The law also allows the Defense Department to recall civilians and contractors supporting the active-duty forces.
Lawmakers from both parties aggressively lobbed Mr. Hagel to embrace a broad interpretation of the law to bring back defense workers and contractors—especially those working in their own states.
Before Saturday's decision, Mr. Hagel suggested he was leaning toward that interpretation.
"I'm not a lawyer, but I do have some appreciation for common sense, and common sense tells you that if you're working for the Department of Defense, you're supporting the defense and the security of America, and you're supporting those who are on the front lines," he said.
The decision comes one day after the ripple effects of the shutdown began to seriously hit the defense industry.
On Friday, Lockheed Martin Corp. announced plans to furlough 3,000 workers on Monday. Lockheed said it could be forced to cut more deeply if the government doesn't get back to normal business soon.
The Aerospace Industries Association, the main industry advocacy group, has warned that companies are preparing to furlough tens of thousands of workers if the shutdown continues.
