Ramstein Airbase, Germany —
The USAFE finance office is the largest and busiest Air Force finance office in the world, supporting AFRICOM and all of the European Theatre.
PCS season runs from May until September, so having members of the 132d Comptroller Flight, Iowa Air National Guard, present to assist during this incredibly busy time was a major benefit to the USAFE Comptroller Squadron.
“From day one through day 14, the 132 CPTF team made an impact,” said Lt. Col. Mann, 86th CPTS commander. “Most members assisted with walk-in customers or completing PCS travel vouchers, both of which are priorities during the busy summer PCS season.
Mann also noted that select CPTF personnel tackled more long-term issues, such as automated Power BI tools to track USAFE-AFAFRICA/FM priority metrics in real-time.
“The team’s short time here had a real impact on the DAF’s third largest and most complex CPTS,” said Mann.
This appreciation for TDYing Air National Guard units has not always been this way. For a long time, the active duty experienced a lot of units that would come in, meet their team and then perform their own individual training with no actual support.
Beginning in 2019, Senior Master Sgt. Troy Granahan of the 132d Comptroller flight and its leadership wanted to reestablish their relationship with the USAFE active duty comptroller flight. The 132d CPTF embedded its members within the USAFE CPTS as soon as they arrived at the base.
“The ability to rebuild and establish a good working relationship with the 86th CPTS will ultimately allow the 132d CPTF to support our members better as they continue to support the Air Force mission by PCS’ing to Ramstein and other OCONUS locations,” said Granahan. “This
opportunity to integrate with the 86th CPTS has also given me a different perspective on how the Active Duty Finance office operates and conducts its daily business.”
The opportunity is mutually beneficial for both entities. The 132d CPTF gets opportunities to learn and apply all aspects that they could face in the Air Force finance spectrum, while the USAFE CPTS gets the added help to support a very high-tempo mission.
“As the Air Force’s largest FM hub, Ramstein AFB provides valuable contingency training to our airmen from the heavy operating tempo to the availability of a cash cage that ANG Finance historically does not have access to until they are actively deployed,” said 2nd Lt. Gabrielle Williams, budget officer of the 132d Finance Comptroller Flight. “Ramstein is collocated with USAFE-AFAFRICA, allowing our airmen to train at the MAJCOM level and facilitate solving large-scale financial matters as appropriate.”
Multiple members (name how many) of the 132d CPTF have gone on six-month TDYs to help support the USAFE office. They have shown that when the 132d members arrive in Germany, they are there to get work done.
“Continuing to build upon our relationship will create opportunities for members of the 132d CPTF to volunteer for tours to backfill for the 86th CPTS in the future, as we have done in the past,” said Granahan.
“This will continue to pay dividends as members from the 86th will PCS to future locations and will be able to reflect upon the quality of work that the 132d CPTF was to provide in the past and will hopefully be at the forefront for when they reach out for additional support in the future.”
Granahan also noted a major highlight from their 2019 AT trip to Ramstein: the relationship established led to two active-duty members transferring to the ANG upon their ETS from active-duty.