4th CPTS, 4th MDSS join for training opportunity

Corey Hitt, 4th Mission Support Group resource advisor, along with Airmen from the 4th Comptroller Squadron, listen to instruction during a Certified Defense Financial Manager education program, Dec. 2, 2015, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. As a resource advisor to the 4th MSG and all its underlying squadron’s resource advisors, Hitt helps manage the budget for the group. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Shawna L. Keyes)

4th CPTS, 4th MDSS join for training opportunity

Tech. Sgt. Melissa Bocardo, 4th Medical Support Squadron flight chief of resource management, attends a Certified Defnese Financial Manger education program, Dec. 2, 2015, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. Airmen in the course learned a broader perspective on topics such as auditing, accounting, acquisitions, finance and certifying. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Shawna L. Keyes)

4th CPTS, 4th MDSS join for training opportunity

Herb Carter, American Society of Military Comptrollers management concepts financial management instructor, teaches Airmen during a Certified Defense Financial Manager education program, Dec. 2, 2015, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. Airmen from the 4th Comptroller Squadron, 4th Medical Support Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina, and Ramstein Air Base, Germany attended the five-day course. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Shawna L. Keyes)

4th CPTS, 4th MDSS join for training opportunity

Herb Carter, American Society of Military Comptrollers management concepts financial management instructor, explains a concept from the Certified Defense Financial Manager education program, Dec. 2, 2015, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. The five-day, 40-hour course broadened Airmen’s know-how of finance from an Air Force perspective to a Department of Defense perspective. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Shawna L. Keyes)

4th CPTS, 4th MDSS join for training opportunity

Published Dec. 9, 2015
By Airman Shawna L. Keyes
4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Select Airmen from around the globe and the 4th Comptroller Squadron and the 4th Medical Support Squadron completed a Certified Defense Financial Manager education program course, Nov. 30 - Dec. 4.

The five-day, 40-hour course, is a preparatory course designed to give participants the knowledge to pass three modules of the CDFM test, giving Airmen a broader Department of Defense perspective of financial management.

"We usually only get an Air Force perspective on financial management," said Lt. Col. Michael Haire, 4th CPTS commander. "This course gives a broader DOD perspective of budget, accounting, finance, cost analysis, to name a few."

The American Society of Military Comptrollers offers the CDFM education program and certification designation to DOD personnel desiring to demonstrate proficiency in the core aspects of defense financial management. The course enabled Airmen in the 4th CPTS to become more knowledgeable and better able to compete with their civilian counterparts, along with receiving credit towards their level two financial management certification.

Airmen gained a deeper understanding of auditing, accounting, finance, and fiscal law during the course. These laws are the rules in which finance is governed by that tell you what you can and can't buy, and how, all within the world of finance.

Haire and Lt. Col. Pamela Townsend-Atkins, 4th MDSS commander, came together to make this course available to Airmen in their respective squadrons.

Both officer and enlisted members from the squadrons attended the class, along with Airmen from Pope Field, North Carolina, and an Airman from Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

"This course is huge and we thought that this capability would be so important to our Airmen that we reached out to our brother and sister services and said 'Hey, it's going to be here'," said Townsend-Atkins. "We were able to partner together, Lt. Col. Haire and I, and bring enough folks together to have the course here."

Townsend-Atkins added that Airmen in her squadron, specifically the medical service core officers and the health care administrators on the enlisted side, both jack-of-all-trades type Airmen, are required at some point in their career to deal with the medical side of finance.

"This training sets us up for success," said Townsend-Atkins. "How do we be a good steward of the money we're responsible for? How are we making sure we optimize every dollar? This course makes sure we are putting ourselves in a position to optimize our capability and make every dollar count."

According to Townsend-Atkins, Airmen from her squadron will use the knowledge gained from this course to prepare better budgets within the 4th Medical Group and understand the finances given to them within their field.

"Taking this course will enhance my knowledge in the finance area," said Staff Sgt. Shelley Hall, 4th CPTS budget analyst. "It gives me more experience and allows me to understand a little more in-depth on what I do on a day-to-day basis."

Hall added that the course has greatly increased her knowledge in areas she and some of her fellow NCOs may not have fully understood before. Now they're more competent in these areas and able to pass down knowledge to younger Airmen in the 4th CPTS, allowing members of the unit to better serve the installation.