Financial Services Center challenges reflected at Spangdahlem

Published Oct. 27, 2008

ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. (AFPN) -- The shift to processing pay and travel transactions at the newly established Air Force Financial Services Center at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., has caused some delays for travel voucher reimbursements and other transactions.

"We no longer fully process military pay and entitlements, and this means we no longer have full control over these processes," said Chief Master Sgt. Stephen Burn, 52nd Comptroller Squadron Superintendent. "We collect the required documentation such as travel vouchers and check for correctness and required accompanied pieces like receipts. In turn, we code up this documentation and electronically send it to the Air Force Financial Service Center at Ellsworth for the final processing and payment."

AFFSC opened its doors in October 2007 as part of the largest transformation in the 60-year history of Air Force financial management. Officials hoped for a seamless transition of base-level financial transactions to AFFSC. "Unfortunately, information technology system challenges and the difficulty in standardizing processes across major commands were challenges," said Senior Master Sgt. Edward Horsch, AFFSC travel division chief.

The current processing time for a temporary duty or permanent change-of-station voucher is 10 to 15 days from when an Airman submits it to a local finance office to when the Airman receives payment. The processing time for military pay documents is less than five days.

"Turnaround times have gotten a lot longer," said Chief Burn. "We used to pay travel vouchers in five business days or less and now it can take up to 15. In fairness to the AFFSC, they have come a long way since we cut over to their service in January 2008, and they are working very hard to cut the processing times. We're confident over time they will match or at least come very close to matching the service provided locally."

If a transaction or claim has not been processed or paid within 15 days for a military pay document or travel voucher, the Airman should visit his or her local finance office. Local finance officials can place the documents in a priority folder for placement in front of the queue. If there are still problems, Airmen should work through their chain of command to resolve the issue.

"Managing expectations with the longer service times was a new challenge of ours," Chief Burn said. "We learned very quickly precision is critical to meet the mission and to get our Sabers paid."

Airmen can also take actions to prevent delays in payments, by following these steps:
-- Use existing automated systems such as Defense Travel System, myPay, and LeaveWeb for transactions.
-- Check accuracy and legibility of personal information such as name, grade, Social Security number, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number.
-- On travel vouchers, ensure itinerary is correct and legible, including verification of dates traveled, places, modes of travel, reasons for stops and lodging costs.
-- Write clearly and legibly so documents can be easily read.
-- Have proper signatures on the travel voucher.
-- Claim all reimbursable expenses.
-- Have a complete set of orders when filing.
-- Indicate the amount disbursed to the Government Travel Card.
-- Contact the unit's agency program coordinator for travel card issues first and not the AFFSC or local finance office.

Presently, AFFSC officials reject 10 to 15 percent of documents because of incorrect or missing basic information, adding days and sometimes weeks to the processing time.

"To avoid extended processing times, sponsors need to make sure new arrivals file their travel vouchers as soon as possible so they can be gained into base and start energizing their overseas entitlements like cost of living allowance," said Chief Burn. "Secondly, every member needs to check their Leave and Earnings Statement every month. Lastly, we need everybody's help with timely GTC."

(Senior Airman Clayton Murray, 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, contributed to this article.)