Finance Airmen named ‘Top Dollar’ while deployed

Published Jan. 30, 2009
By Senior Airman Jessica Lockoski
506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq -- -- Using the tailgate of an old truck as a makeshift desk, , and dressed in his individual body armor, helmet square, a finance Airman completes the necessary paperwork before he thumbs through a high stack of American currency. Administrative actions complete, he doles out cash to an Iraqi vendor, who smiles and shakes his hand in satisfaction.

Tech. Sgt. Jason Daniels, currently superintendent and paying agent for the 506th Air Expeditionary Group finance office here, was recently notified that he had earned a return on his investment, per se, when the group commander informed the group staff that the NCO's hard work had earned him recognition as "Financial Management NCO of the Year" for the Air Force Reserve Command.

"I do not view myself as having done anything extraordinary, so this award truly is a shock to me," Sergeant Daniels said. The finance community is a close knit bunch, Sergeant Daniels said. I know a lot of my FM peers throughout the command through training opportunities, TDY's and locations that I've been stationed, so to be considered as one among them for this award is a great honor.

A Cambridge, Minn., native, he is deployed from the 340th Flying Training Group, Randolph AFB, Texas, where he worked as a quality assurance manager and training monitor for the past year.

The award didn't surprise an officer at the NCO's home unit.

"Tech. Sgt. Daniels is the model FM Airman," said Capt. Joan Yarrell, 340th FTG finance flight. "He knows every intimate detail of his current and former positions, and he is willing to learn as well as teach skills needed in the finance career field."

Captain Yarrell said he was nominated based on his outstanding work ethic, accommodating and customer-focus attitude and his service before self mantra.

At Kirkuk RAB, he serves as a paying agent and superintendent of the finance office. He secures cash and other negotiable instruments such as U.S. Treasury and personal checks from customers. He is also responsible for the budgets of operations and maintenance funds used by the units assigned here. So when squadrons need the cash for supplies and equipment, he is the go-to, money-man.

One of the things he finds interesting about his job at Kirkuk is when he pays the vendors at the office and sometimes makes the arrangements off base.

"These vendors are mainly from the Kirkuk area, so the money we pay out goes directly into the local Iraq economy," said Daniels. "They get paid upon completion of a contract or upon delivery of an order.

"It's been a wonderful experience meeting so many of the Iraqi people," the sergeant said.

Prior to entering the Air Force, Sergeant Daniels received his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration at Concordia College, Minn.

I entered the financial management career field because it was the most closely, related career field to the education that I received, he said.

I hold honesty and integrity sacred and it's not to be compromised. I do not work the smartest, but rather work with commitment until the job is complete, he said.
While his finance skill and management helps him at work, it also helps the Airman in his civilian life.

"The financial management skills I've learned through the Air Force and my education has been elemental in my family's everyday life," said Daniels. "With a family of six - with a family of any size, it's crucial to set goals, establish a budget, control expenses, save and invest and plan ahead for the unexpected," he said. "That's something the Air Force has engrained into me."