Exact number of Fort Jackson employees affected by shutdown unknown. Here's why

The U.S. Army’s largest training installation in South Carolina could not say Monday exactly how many people were furloughed after the federal government shut down Friday night.

Why?

The person designated to crunch those numbers was – guess what – furloughed, too.

Fort Jackson is just one of many federal sites in the Palmetto State affected by the government shutdown that had to furlough hundreds of employees, said fort spokesman Pat Jones.

A news release said the shutdown would not affect the fort’s ability to keep its soldiers, civilian and family members safe, or the installation secure. Fire and emergency services and security operations will continue uninterrupted and gates remained open, Fort Jackson said.

The Senate voted to end the shutdown Monday.

This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Exact number of Fort Jackson employees affected by shutdown unknown. Here's why."