18th CPTS receives PACAF Financial Analysis Office of the Year award

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Justin Veazie
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan and generated a tsunami that advanced more than three miles inland from the shoreline.

In the wake of the devastation, a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker carrying relief workers and 50 civil engineers from Kadena Air Base arrived at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan within 48 hours in support of Operation TOMODACHI.

However, none of this would've been possible without the aid of the 18th Comptroller Squadron.

In the early stages of the operation the unit tallied up more than $500,000 in funds to the 116 Airmen deployed downrange to sustain relief efforts. Because of this quick action during the crisis and other accomplishments throughout the year, the 18th CPTS was recently awarded the Pacific Air Forces' Financial Analysis Office of the Year award for 2011.

"It's always great when you feel that your team gets their due," said Lt. Col. Seung Paik, 18th CPTS commander. "They put in a tremendous amount of work to get this achievement."

Squadron personnel, with a specific focus on customers and their feedback, also developed and implemented a new travel order process to reduce customer waiting time by 40 percent. They also assured 100 percent of travel vouchers were paid within five days.

CPTS also boasts during 2011, 60 percent of the combat comptroller's budget team for the 18th Wing was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq as well as various other locations in the Middle East. While there, these Airmen successfully tracked nearly 25 billion dollars in their deployments.

Staff Sgt. Andrea Conn, 18th CPTS budget analyst, said for all their hard work, the unit definitely earned its recognition.

"I think receiving this award is well deserved," said Conn. "The budget team put in a lot of long hours here. Sometimes it's a thankless job, but it's nice to be noticed."

"At times it was difficult, even risky, but my team and I were determined to press on," Paik said. "If we wanted to succeed in our efforts, then we had to do what we had to do."

However, the comptrollers didn't do it all on their own.

The squadron teamed up with the 18th Contracting and Civil Engineering Squadrons to trim $1.1 million contracts and used the savings for "must-pay" bills.

Thanks to the efforts of the different organizations, Team Kadena received more funds to support the 18th Wing mission.