Fund fighting financers

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Cassandra Locke
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  When deployed, the last thing one wants to worry about is their finances. 

The 379th Expeditionary Comptroller Squadron is here to provide timely and accurate financial services for all personnel here and throughout the area of responsibility. 

The fund fighting team processes military pay entitlements for Air Force active duty members and answer entitlement and pay questions for the Guard and Reserve personnel. They provide casual pay services for sister services and cash checks for everyone here. 

“We strive to ensure that our Airmen’s focus is on the job, not their pay,” said Capt. Ned June, budget officer, deployed from Langley AFB, Va. “Members shouldn’t have to worry if their family is financially secure back at home station.” 

The squadron’s Budget Accounting Liaison Office budgets the base’s role in the war against terror by validating, processing and tracking all funding allocated via congressional supplemental. The Budget Accounting Office also provide leadership fiscal advice on the distribution of financial resources to wing goals and objectives. 

“Our purpose is to fund the best for our best to most effectively accomplish the mission,” said Captain June. 

Some of the duties among the 14 person squadron are processing vendor payments, collecting money into the savings deposit program, processing loads of paperwork for the entire AOR; to include travel vouchers, starting entitlements for people and giving the troops a customer service friendly forum to ask questions about their finances. 

“I don’t want a troop who’s on his or her way to Iraq wondering if his or her entitlements are started, all I want that person to think about is the mission,” said Senior Airman Elizabeth Larson, 379th ECPTS deployed from Pope AFB, N.C. 

Interacting with the permanent party, rotational and transient personnel of all services here makes it clear to the squadron that they’re saving these people time and worry.
“This is the real mission over here. When we talk about funding the fight you can see first hand how we impact the mission,” said Tech. Sgt. Michelle Morris, 379th ECPTS accounting technician. 

“In the states it’s more of an indirect support [but not counting them out]; here, it’s up close and personal and we have direct affect on the war on terrorism.”