Comptroller Training Flight��Major Randy Toris

You've probably figured out by now that this column under the Comptroller Training Flight has become my little bulletin board to write about or have others write about whatever is on the mind. Since this is my last stand on the ol' soapbox before hitting the dusty trail toward the next assignment, it's appropriate to do a few things: first and foremost, to thank a few folks, but more importantly, to write about something of value, in case there are any of you that read my article without going comatose.

Hopefully, you've gathered from previous articles that I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been given the chance to work at the FM Schoolhouse. The crew of enlisted, civilians, and officers here makes coming to work rewarding and fun. I continue to be amazed at their duty concept, their desire to build a better tomorrow, and their expertise in the field. Thanks, team, you know I'm already missing you, and will always remember the effort you gave me. For all of you distinguished and even those of you not so distinguished visitors, you have made the schoolhouse your own and it shines through to all the students. They feel the love from above and your messages resonate throughout the entire career field. I mean no offense by reminding you of the impact you have ... you already know, it's just EXTRA rewarding walking through the halls hearing students multiplying your thoughts ... the value of the product that leaves these doors gets magnified tenfold. To our MAJCOM functional top cover, thank you for your time and your guidance.

Okay, brace yourself. This next paragraph is as close as you'll get to a pearl of wisdom, so read closely or you might miss it. So many people with so much more experience have written on leadership and have talked about what it takes to be a success. In this article, what I'd like to write about is something fundamental to our career field: trust ... specifically our trust relationship with the taxpayer. I'm writing this mainly to let you know what we talk to the students about ... if you've been in a class lately, you are exempt from having to read this ... unless you slept the first time you heard it! Regardless of age or rank, we discuss what level of integrity the FMer has to have. From deployed agent stories of handling bricks worth of cash to the technician working in customer support stateside, there will be times when you will be expected to do the right thing when no one is looking. There are two sayings that might as well be considered facts: 1) money makes the world go around, and 2) money is the root of all evil. Temptation is extreme, especially as those potential wrong-doers learn more about our accounting systems and think they know the loopholes. As custodians and guardians of public funds, we must be "trustable" beyond reproach.

The majority of you out there have seen or heard of at least one finance or acquisition person trying to defraud the government. My examples I give to the class range in rank from the Airman Basic caught stealing during in-processing to one of the most senior ranking officials in the AF who went under investigation for her questionable ethics. I'm sure you all read our Enlisted Career Field Manager's words in his article a few issues back regarding AFMAN 36-2108. This is the regulation that outlines all the minimum requirements for every AFSC. Ours is the only career field in the entire AF that stipulates we will not keep in our ranks anyone with theft, robbery, or burglary on their record. Isn't integrity important to all? Why are we the only ones that specifically address this core value? For me, I think of it like this: sure every job is important. The pothole must get filled, the towel must get passed out, the email virus must get killed ... but when it boils down to it, we're dealing with people's livelihoods. Paying people properly puts food on their table, pays the phone bill, and secures their family's future. We must continue to understand our critical role in making happy workers for a happy mission. The wing commander must know unequivocally that his people are being cared for and that we, the FM troop, have enabled his/her warrior by handling their finance needs and getting them back into their own battlefield. That pilot isn't the finance person and shouldn't have to become one to meet his/her needs ... that's our job in our support role.

That same wing commander needs to know we're doing the right thing at all times because we are the financial spokesperson for the team ... we shouldn't have to be babysat to perform our mission. We must remove the cancerous thief from our midst that sullies the reputation of all the hard-working men and women in your finance shops. Morale, motivation, and trust will suffer if it continues. Of course, it's not all FM troops that go to the dark side, but one is enough to give the entire career field a black eye. And in case you were wondering if there really are people of questionable integrity, yes they're out there ... and yes they do silly things (switching price tags at the BX between clearance items and full price items for a net savings of two and half bucks).

The taxpayer counts on us to execute their money properly. Think about it: you're a taxpayer too ... do you want someone of less-than-stellar character handling those funds? Imagine that taxpayer who opened the newspaper here in Biloxi MS two months ago to read about the investigation into wrongdoing by a senior AF official and a major defense contractor worth billions of dollars.

Scarce resources are a fact of life in our business. Our FM community has earned its "badge" of honor and integrity through countless hours of doing the right thing. If you're reading this magazine, it shows you care ... about our profession, about our reputation. Financing the fight becomes a much easier task when you have a team focused on living the AF core values ... not just memorizing them. Well, by now, my soapbox has expired, so I'll end by saying thank you all for all your help in building the Airmen of tomorrow and showing them your paths.

COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Air Force, Financial Management and Comptroller
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group