28 CCS wins ACC award

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Abigail Klein
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  Air Combat Command named the 28th Comptroller and Contracting Squadron as the Financial Management and Comptroller Organization of the year Jan. 12, as part of the 2008 ACC Financial Management and Comptroller awards program.

The award recognizes the best financial management personnel and programs in ACC and encompasses all facets of financial management from financial analysis to customer support.

Competitors for this award included other comptroller squadrons at the ACC-level, said Lt. Col. Christine Wasdin, 28 CCS commander. It requires an outstanding performance from the two distinct sections that make up the comptroller flight.

"All of the members of the 28th CCS are very proud to have won this award," she said. "Our Financial Services section [which is responsible for pay and travel type
issues] is one of the first bases in ACC to use the services of the Air Force Financial Services Center. We work closely with AFFSC to successfully work issues, whether technical or financial."

The success the 28 CCS has had with AFFSC has inspired ACC to study their procedures in order to apply them to other ACC bases. All ACC bases have already been slated to join the AFFSC network in May 2009, Colonel Wasdin said.

The techniques the Financial Analysis section took included steps to change their focus from transactions like check writing and number crunching to a more modern focus. This meant providing decision support and advising leadership on more effective ways to manage their budgets successfully and efficiently.

"The contracting members of the squadron also played a significant role in our success, too," Colonel Wasdin said. "The close working relationship between contracting and financial analysis allowed us to source funds and purchase what our wing customers required, while keeping road bumps and bureaucratic delays to a minimum. We look forward to finding new ways in 2009 to build on the successes our combination squadron has already achieved."