Calculating financial management’s annual awards

  • Published
  • By Benjamin Newell
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Airmen here earned eight individual awards during Air Force Life Cycle Management’s Financial Management Annual Awards ceremony held Aug. 29 via video teleconference.

Hanscom’s winning Airmen saved a total of $108 million by identifying oversights and implementing more efficient ways of doing business. They were responsible for more than $4 billion in contracts and programs.

“It’s the job of Financial Management and Comptroller specialists to manage accounting records and systems,” according to the Air Force’s recruiting website. “From determining the availability of funds to processing the dispersal of payments to performing audits, these experts keep a watchful eye on our financial data to ensure that our funds are being used responsibly and efficiently.”

Financial Management Airmen from every AFLCMC site provided oversight to more than 22,000 contracts representing $50 billion in Air Force expenditures. Forty-nine judges evaluated 237 nomination packages and settled on awards for 26 AFLCMC individuals and three team categories.

Kathryn Sowers, director of AFLCMC Financial Management and Comptroller division, hosted the event from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Other senior executives and flag officers digitally joined the awards ceremony representing seven AFLCMC locations at Air Force bases nationwide. More than 80 FM Airmen attended Hanscom’s teleconference event, held in Building 1614. 

Detailed achievements

Capt. Thomas Lamb, Battle Management Directorate here, earned Hanscom’s first award of the ceremony and was cited for management of mid-level cost acquisition category I and II. He successfully completed a logistic business case analysis and identified $75 million in cost savings. He managed a six-person team defending the program objective memorandum, while developing solutions for a $26.9 million funding shortfall. 

“I use data gathered from current and past contracts to estimate the fielding and sustainment of the system I manage,” said 1st Lt. Alayna Barnes, Battle Management Directorate, who earned Hanscom’s second award for junior cost analyst in acquisition category I and II.  “We work wide-area analysis projects, which provide needed capability on the battlefield. We’re giving battlefield Airmen eyes over the horizon.”

Glenn Campbell, Battle Management Directorate, picked up Hanscom’s next award in the mid-level financial analyst category. Campbell led staff for $6.6 billion in foreign military sales and procurement. He enabled critical decision support to 13 divisions, and five geographically separated units. Additionally, he performed a comprehensive review of a multi-year $34 million contract and identified risks, which resulted in averting a potential $6 million Anti-Deficiency Act violation.

Brigid Larkin, junior cost analyst for a nuclear protected command and control program in the Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks Directorate, earned an award for her work on beyond- line-of-sight terminals. She validated $1.8 billion in requirements and redesigned an expenditure tracking processes.

“Many people, particularly my mentor Robert Link, have taken the time to recognize and train me,” said Larkin. “I’d like to keep learning, and become more independent so that I can get to the point where I can handle projects on my own.”

Link, Larkin’s mentor, is a cost analyst in the same directorate.

Hanscom’s FM civilian trainee of the year also hailed from C3I&N. Robert Good managed two ACAT III programs valued at more than $150 million in addition to a $1.9 million reimbursable program supporting the Hanscom Collaboration and Innovation Center. He provided training on the reimbursable budget authority process to 65 financial managers and fellow trainees.

Company Grade Officer of the Year 1st Lt. Keith Bentley, a cost analyst in C3I&N, saved $10 million on missile communications installation.

“Winning this, this early in my career, feels great,” said Bentley. “While a lot of hard work went into this, I work with more than 20 people who make for a great learning environment.”

Darren Bergeron, mid-level Foreign Military Sales Analyst of the year, provides mission planning finance support to the Battle Management Directorate for the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-15 Eagle, C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules. He was cited for leading a seven-member FMS team in the absence of a branch chief, while supporting 55 cases and 32 international partners with a portfolio valued at more than $250 million.   

 

First Lt. David Lee of the Battle Management Directorate led five financial management personnel supporting $300 million in investment, sustainment and foreign military sales programs. He reconciled a $21 million foreign military sales case and enabled the interim closure of a 10-year-old delinquent case.

The winners received plaques from Daniel Harvey, chief of AFLCMC-Hanscom’s Financial Management directorate.