NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada --
Finances are an essential tool when accomplishing Air Force missions, and the 926th Wing financial management team at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, are the individuals ensuring this unit’s budget is kept on track and that its members are paid accurately and on time.
“We as a unit are given a certain amount of dollars each fiscal year,” Tom Wallis, 926th Wing financial management lead defense travel administrator, said. “Our team ensures that the wing mission is able to push forward while staying within and fulfilling the target of our current budget.”
The financial management team is comprised of two main groups, one that focuses on the overall use of the unit budget and the other that works with its members for pay and travel. Each side works fluidly with the other through constant communication.
“A common misconception about our team is that we simply plug numbers into a computer,” Donna Joyner, 926th Wing financial management operation and maintenance analyst, said. “Most people don’t realize the vast amount of steps and facts required to make their paycheck happen or the knowledge needed to properly use our budget while excelling in our missions.”
Joyner said managing these funds across the 926th Wing is also done with the consistent communication of trained resource advisors and the timely and accurate submission of required paperwork from unit members.
“We spend a significant amount of time training new resource advisors in the hope that we’ll experience a consistent partnership with and feedback from them,” she said. “We also rely on unit members to fill out their pay and travel paperwork on time. Our responsibility is to make sure all the information needed is present and correct in order for us to get that individual paid.”
Though mostly a behind-the-scenes career, Wallis said the finance management mission is critical across the Department of Defense.
“If an Air Force pilot is flying missions overseas but is worrying about his family, who’s not receiving the pay and benefits they need, he’s less likely to give his full attention to successfully completing his duties,” he said. “By doing our job right the first time, so that members are paid and units manage their money well, the military is able to move forward and there’s one less stressor on a military member’s mind.”
To contact the travel section of the 926th Wing financial management office, call 702-652-0733. For questions on pay, call 702-652-9590.