HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – More than 100 members of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center workforce attended a Digital Directorate Financial Management Open House here June 13.
The event builds on a similar event held last year.
“We wanted to provide our people access to what’s going on in other divisions throughout the Digital Directorate,” said Vince Siwicki, the directorate’s chief financial officer, who organized the event with Ann Tuite, deputy CFO for budget.
The theme for this year’s open house was agile software development.
“Last year we had a lot of new trainees, a lot of new people in the Air Force and we wanted to expose them to what we can do in the directorate,” said Siwicki. “This year there is an exchange of ideas on how to do agile software development, cost estimating and budgeting.”
PEO Digital has more than 300 military and civilian FM specialists in 14 divisions in six locations who support the standardization and dissemination of agile software development financial processes throughout the Air Force.
Air Force financial managers provide analyses on everything from weapons systems to research and technology programs. This analysis is critical to ensuring the Air Force is operating at maximum efficiency.
“Events like this are an opportunity to come together as a community and see the different programs across the Digital portfolio,” said Shae Akles, chief financial officer for the Command & Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Division at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.
The open house was especially beneficial for Hanscom’s junior workforce.
“This Financial Management Open House offers the chance to see what others are doing and see how we are all working together for a single purpose,” said Austin Cooper, an analyst for the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar Division. He began his Air Force career last September.
In addition to teams at Hanscom AFB and Robins AFB, FM personnel from Hill Air Force Base in Utah, Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, and Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, attended the now annual event.
Organizers asked each division to tell their own story through interactive displays.
“I encouraged every FMer to go to every division’s display and talk to the people, learn about their mission and bring that back to his or her organization,” Siwicki said.
While organizers planned the event for members of the financial management community, others were welcome to attend.
“In our directorate, we’re all about developing and growing people,” said Siwicki. “Give them tools, give them possibilities and they’ll do great things.”