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Moving the money behind the mission

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jeff Loftin
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
Southwest Asia --  Moving the mission requires moving the money and a small unit here controls the purse strings to this key base in the area of responsibility. 

About 13 people in the 379th Comptroller Squadron manage the budget for the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing and handle financial matters for those assigned here. 

"Basically I make sure all the bills are paid for the base," said Tech. Sgt. Angela Wonoski, non-commissioned officer in charge of accounting. "Any contracts, any invoices, anything that is bought I pay for it. 

"We work closely with contracting," explained the Syracuse, N.Y., native. "When the paperwork comes here [the] budget [section of the squadron] ensures they are following all the proper procedures and guidelines for whatever they are purchasing. I make sure we have the funds to buy the things. I do all the paperwork and make sure contracting gets a copy of it. Then contracting makes the purchases and gets the goods delivered. I get the invoices and make sure all the vendors get paid." 

Sergeant Wonoski, a Guard member who deployed from Hancock Field, N.Y., and the other five members of the budgeting section handle a $94.7 million budget. 

"One of the biggest challenges is balancing the budget to the penny," she said. "A lot of people think that it doesn't matter if it's off by a couple of dollars. It doesn't work that way. Just because we're dealing with a lot of money, there are procedures and policies we have to follow." 

Sometimes those policies require the squadron to disapprove purchase requests. 

"One of the tough things is telling commanders 'no,'" said Maj. Louise Shumate, squadron commander. "Nobody likes to hear the word 'no.' But, our job is to keep the boss out of trouble. We are his eyes and ears as far as requirements that come in. He allows us to make those decisions." 

The Crestview, Fla., native said this becomes more difficult when everyone assumes there is plenty of money in the Global War on Terror fund. 

"In budget, we are requirements based," she said. "Because it is GWOT funded the mentality is 'Oh, there is lots of money, we can always get more.' Well as we move to an enduring presence, that mentality has to go away. At a normal base you are constrained by the budget you're given by Air Staff. You have to live within that square or circle. Here, we're trying to create that circle. We have to get folks conditioned as we move to an enduring presence and a baseline budget. That is an ongoing challenge." 

Units at most bases have to keep up with the funds given them and the amount going out to purchase items. Tech. Sgt. Ray Quenneville, the squadron's paying agent, has to do the same for the finance section of the unit, but with millions of dollars. 

"It's like a big checkbook," said the Shushan, N.Y., native. "There is a lot of money coming in and out. I just have to keep track of it and make sure it balances at the end of the day." 

Sergeant Quenneville, deployed from Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, oversees the funds going out to customers for check cashing and currency exchanges. He also manages deposits consisting of tens of thousands of dollars from Army and Air Force Exchange Service and 379th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron organizations. 

"You are talking about millions of dollars and you can't be off 10 cents," he said. You have to balance to the penny every day." 

This becomes more difficult when the number of transactions increases. Last month the finance section served 4,900 customers. The section cashes checks and exchanges currency for not only wing personnel, but anyone assigned to the base or passing through. 

"Every few weeks I get to go to off-base banks to exchange currency so we'll be able to exchange it for our customers," said Sergeant Quenneville. "I kind of feel like a movie star when I go down there. They have everyone come in and open up the vault for us. They'll greet us and bring us tea. It's kind of neat. That is probably one of the most unique things with this job." 

The finance section also handles pay entitlements for the whole AOR. 

"My folks get all the paperwork from all the forward-operating locations in the AOR," said Major Shumate. "We work with them and Shaw [AFB, S.C.,] to get their entitlements started." 

Because the unit does so many transactions with Shaw finance officials, they recently set up a "community of practice" website and streamlined the process. 

"The vision of the boss is to go from paper to paperless," said Major Shumate. "Both sides [budget and finance] have been trying to look forward and streamline some of the things we do." 

One of the things the unit is doing is getting the word out about the advantages of the Eagle Cash Card. 

"We're trying to get more folks to use the card so there can be a lot less cash shipped into the AOR," said Sergeant Quenneville. "It'll save the government money in the long run." 

Sergeant Wonoski said the two sections have adjusted a lot of procedures to improve the unit. 

"We have a lot of really good ideas we are trying to get taken care of before we walk out of here," she said. " I think it was good we've been able to come here and make things better. 

"This has been a great learning experience for me," she said. "I've been able to do a lot of things I wouldn't be able to do at base level. I was a little nervous when I found out I was coming here because I knew it was going to be high-tempo and figured the active-duty members would have a little more experience. But, I came in with a good team. I was able to ask questions and they got me up to speed. This is probably the best deployment and situation I've ever been in."