JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — No more remote work for federal government employees, effective immediately.
That’s the new policy enacted by President Donald Trump and his new administration, giving agencies 30 days to comply with the “back to work” order.
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The argument held by the administration is that remote work stemming from the pandemic has long compromised the efficiency of government workers.
However, Jacksonville veteran Lucas Cutter told Action News Jax Friday he questions if military bases like Naval Air Station Jacksonville will be able to accommodate the sudden influx of in-person employees on one network.
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“My job in the military was as a data Marine, as Air-656 Data Tactical Network Operator,” Cutter said. “And I can tell you, this is gonna cause a network issue. You have to have hardlines. They have enough computers, but do they have enough data points?”
Cutter also added that he’s concerned the new mandate will not only stretch available resources but add to traffic congestion on and around the base as well.
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“I don’t know how many hundreds are gonna show up, but it’s gonna end up costing us thousands, tens of thousands of hours across the entire country,” Cutter said.
According to statistics reported by the Washington Post, around 39 percent of all defense workers are estimated to be eligible for telework or fully remote work, with 26 percent of all Veterans Affairs workers possibly affected by the mandate.
Action News Jax also reached out to NAS Jax and received the following statement:
“Less than 10 percent of federal civilian employees at NAS Jacksonville’s tenant commands work in remote or substantial telework positions. The majority of our workforce are first responders, public safety and operational employees who perform duties physically in-person every day.”
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