Finance agency opens new reserve pay center Published July 7, 2004 WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The Defense Department's new Reserve Pay Center of Excellence has officially opened for business.The operation, part of Defense Finance and Accounting Service, will further improve service "to the men and women who defend America," according to a DFAS news release. It will offer "better productivity" to a "key military customer group."The move centralizes payroll activities for all Army and Air Force National Guard and Reserve elements, as well as the Naval Reserve, in Cleveland. DFAS officials said they expect "significant" productivity gains from running these operations from an established, centralized pay-support site."DFAS is constantly striving to improve the way it serves its customers," said Pat Shine, director of the agency's military and civilian pay services business line. "The Reserve Pay Center of Excellence will make us even more responsive to the needs of a critical component of America's defense -- the Reserve and Guard."According to the release, centralized pay and customer-service operations began for the Air Force Reserve in May. The Air National Guard, Army Reserve and Army National Guard accounts will follow. The Cleveland center already had been servicing the Naval Reserve before the consolidation.The new center's stand-up did not cause any job losses. Workers at the Denver center who handled Guard and Reserve accounts "have been reassigned to other high-priority military pay tasks," noted the release. And "no loss of jobs will occur" when Army Guard and Reserve functions move from Indianapolis. (Courtesy of American Forces Press Service)