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Turbulent fiscal year ends in photo-finish

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Joseph Raatz
  • Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Air Force Global Strike Command finance, contracting, and civil engineering teams worked frenziedly to finalize the funding and execution of mission critical requirements before the fiscal year's midnight deadline, Sept. 30.

"The last contract award was made at 11:49 p.m. by the Second Contracting Squadron," said Col. Ann Christianson, AFGSC's senior contracting official. "The command received $23 million to execute at the last minute, so it came down to the wire."

"Being able to execute millions of dollars with limited time to compete and award the contracts speaks to the incredible dedication of the team," Christianson continued. "I can't emphasize enough how important teamwork was as this year truly required a Herculean effort to succeed."

The AFGSC teams executed a command-record $761 million in 2014, exceeding previous records by a substantial amount.

"This fiscal year was certainly full of challenges, but ended up being a very robust year as AFGSC executed its highest funding amount to date," said Lt. Col. William Gibson, AFGSC Budget Operations chief. "We successfully funded critical requirements, further strengthening the nuclear enterprise while reducing fiscal year 2015 risk by purchasing buy-downs such as cold weather gear, tech refresh, vehicle parts and work order supplies."

The AFGSC finance and contracting teams achieved success in the face of serious obstacles, including sequestration and a government shutdown.

"The government shutdown was a delicate situation that created unique challenges to start off the fiscal year," Gibson said. "From an operational perspective, nearly all of the civilian employees were sent home and only mission critical requirements could be funded during the shutdown.  While this did create a certain level of confusion, each wing was provided guidance to follow and they performed admirably in sustaining operations."

AFGSC's Force Improvement Program also provided a substantial challenge. The influx of unexpected requirements and funding as the year was in progress placed extra demands on teams who were already working at full capacity.

"This year has truly been a rollercoaster," Christianson said. "The added requirements for the FIP in addition to the normal requirements at the end-of-year were really a challenge. We had to ask our people to work a lot of late nights and weekends the last three months of the fiscal year to ensure that we could close the gap in the timelines and get these things executed."

Many of these contracts usually take up to nine months to plan and execute, but the AFGSC team often had to condense the process into a timeframe as short as two months, Christianson explained.

The leadership, dedication and teamwork of the Financial Management and Contracting teams facilitated the successful conclusion of fiscal year 2014, Gibson said. These teams coordinated across Major Command directorates and the Numbered Air Force and wing levels.

"Our squadrons worked extremely hard to make this year a success," Christianson said. "Many folks don't understand the level of effort required to spend the government's money while navigating the numerous laws and regulations.   Our people really gave it their all to ensure the command was postured to execute as much funding that was available and able to award it no matter how late the funding was received."