Despite the ongoing government shutdown, civilian employees of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base returned to work today.

A notice sent over the weekend instructs "All Air Force Materiel Command civilians" to report for duty at their normal time.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to bring our entire team back to work," said Col. Cassie Barlow, 88th Air Base Wing Commander. "While it will take some time to catch up from last week's disruption, I'm confident our team is more than capable of meeting this challenge."

Approximately 8,700 base employees were furloughed last week.