Budget Dust

AFAFO Aged Travel Orders Deobligation Policy

Below is the latest policy guidance from AFAFO regarding the deobligation of aged travel orders. This memo supersedes the guidance provided April and May 2019.

The memo lays out specific criteria under which base comptroller offices and the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can deobligate aged vouchers. This memo gives a tremendous amount of authority back to the bases and should help curb an age old problem.

How are you utilizing the memo? What systems have you put in place curb aged orders? Do you have any helpful guides or tutorials you would like to share? Use the comments below to provide feedback and links to any helpful materials.

Source: AFAFO-A

Policy as of: 7 February 2020

AFAFO-Aged-Travel-Orders-Deobligation-Policy

CRIS Migrating to the Cloud Soon

CRIS will be moving to the cloud on or about 10 Feb 2020. While we prepare to make our final move to the cloud, please be aware that any changes made to queries not saved to the local PC after 4 Feb 2020 will not be saved to you CRIS profile. We need approximately 4 days to migrate the data to the cloud so any changes or new queries created after 4 Feb 2020 will not be available in your cloud profile. Any new or modified queries you need after 4 Feb 2020 should be saved to your local computer for later upload to the cloud.

If all goes well, you will automatically be redirected to the cloud instance of CRIS on 10 February. You may notice some minor differences in the cloud. The biggest one will be authentication through the CCE. After ~15 minutes of inactivity, your ‘token’ will expire and you will need to log back in to CRIS (refresh your IE). Yes, you will still need to use internet explorer for several more months.

Direct questions to:

AFAOC FM Systems Help Desk

Phone: 937.257.3117 or DSN: 787.3117

Email: saf.fmpaffso.customerservice@us.af.mil

Hours: M-F 0700-1700

Source: CRIS FMO

As of Date: 4 February 2020

Changes to Financial Management Duty Titles (Officer & Enlisted)

In 2017, Ms. Thomas sent out a memo standardizing duty titles for FM Officers and Enlisted Airmen in an effort to provide consistency among the various organizations in which we serve. Since that memo was signed, there have been some changes in the requirements for our duty titles and in the promotion systems for both Officers and Enlisted. Because of these changes, Mr. Hartley signed the attached duty title memo. This memo updates approved duty titles to include officers serving in the acquisition community, where we have lacked standardization up to this point.

Standardized duty titles allow us to quickly describe career paths to promotion and other cross-functional boards that may not have any FM representation on them. Today, we have 541 O-5s and below in FM, with 327 unique duty titles in use – over half the career field. The numbers aren’t better on the enlisted side.

Because of this need, the attached memo requires all members have a compliant duty title by 28 February 2020. Please work with your local CSS/MPS staff to review your records, and those of your Airmen, to ensure their duty titles match those on the approved duty title memo. If you have any specific questions, please contact the Officer Assignment Team (Officer Duty Titles) or your MAJCOM Chief Enlisted Managers (Enlisted Duty Title).

Source: SAF/FM
As of Date: 27 January 2020

200131-Financial-Management-Duty-Titles-SAF_FM-PDAS-Signed

Heroes are near future versions of you

Getting older and Googling your hero’s age let’s you in on a dirty little secret. Most aren’t much older than you. This became tragically evident this week with the passing of Kobe Bryant. I grew up idolizing his work ethic and mamba mentality, yet we were only six years apart.

Why is that? Because if they were any older their message wouldn’t resonate. The distance would be too great.

Our favorite artists conveyed their experience and hard fought lessons learned in ways we could relate to. Our parents and teachers were trying to teach us those same lessons, but the generational divide got in the way.

Why does this matter? Because you are someone’s hero. You just don’t know it. A near-peer or subordinate is looking up to you right now. Your message resonates, because you have been where they are and made it through. You survived and that gives them hope.

Real heroes don’t wear capes. They work in cubicles, wear uniforms and make PBJs before school.

Someone is watching you. What are they seeing?

FM Career Field Webcast – Civilian Developmental Education

Crystal Moore, AFPC, host another webcast on Facebook LIVE. She discusses What Supervisors/Endorsers Should Know as part of AFPC’s Crushing the Complexities initiative. This is the second in the series and proved helpful in navigating the requirements, timelines and advice for employees and supervisors.

Senior Leader Webchat with CMSgt Kendall Briscoe

In November 2019, CMSgt Kendall Briscoe conducted a Facebook LIVE session where he gave an overarching update on a multitude of issues facing the FM Enlisted team and our Air Force. This is a must listen for both officers and enlisted.

Fast forward to about the 8 minute mark when the briefing actually begins.

Video Link

CET Credit Link

Highlights

8 min – The FM Our Air Force needs overview
12 min – AFIPPS update – Go live date pushed to Jan 2022
14 min – Manpower study, Oct 2022
17 min – AFIPSS way ahead
19 min – Changes to tech school curriculum
24 min – Resource Training Center (RTC) & Finance Information Collaborative Space (FICS)
27 min – Silver Flag update
34 min – FICS
39 min – Culture of Training
43 min – Resiliency
45 min – Q&A from Airmen – Artificial Intelligence/Bots, Business Intelligence, Power BI

DoD FM Connection Newsletter – Winter 2020

Link to Newsletter (CAC Required)

In This Issue

Comptroller Corner
My DoD FM STARs Program Experience
Improve Your Leadership Skills with a Leadership Development Program
Mentorship Benefits Mentees and Mentors
Tips for Starting a Rotational Assignment Program
DoD FM Workforce Virtual Training Program is the Way to Go
Quarterly Spotlight – The Naval Postgraduate School
Announcements
DoD FM Certification Update
Frequently Used Links
Workforce Brain Bender

DoD-FM Connection Winter 2020 (No CAC Required)Download

gslmotorlearningguidev2 Download

Challengepointandgolf Download

Backyard Putting Green Plans

ProPutt Systems Forum Post – guy did a really nice job
Birdieball Outdoor Putting Mat
DIY Putting Green on the cheap

Richie Hunt Articles

2011 Pro Golf Synopsis
- Game planning
Golf Digest 21 Take Aways
All Rich Hunt GolfWRX articles
- How power helps your golf game (and it’s not how you think)
- Statistics on how short hitters can conquer Par-5’s
  - Hit driver off the tee, but focus on good contact and finding the fairway instead of swinging harder in hopes of hitting it farther.
  - Three wood performance is not as critical to par-5 performance as one may think. However, it’s still important to try and get the ball as close as you can to the hole when feasible rather than playing for your “money yardage.”
  - Short Game performance is fairly important, but it’s more about long-range short game shots (20-30 yards) than shorter range Short Game shots (<15 yards).
  - Par-5 performance is more about the first two shots than it is about performance with the putter.
- Are PGA Tour players too conservative when they lay up?
  - At the very least, these studies should make golfers question just how much loss aversion plays a role in their performance. For example, we have always heard the old adage of “take an extra club on approach shots because you are more likely to miss short of the hole than long of the hole.” Perhaps that is another instance of loss aversion affecting a golfer’s performance.
  - I also have to wonder if McIlroy and Spieth have a different view of golf than most everybody else. Perhaps they are thinking more about accumulating good golf shots in a round instead of focusing on avoiding bad golf shots. And maybe the golf world has to change its outlook on golf, choosing an offensive instead of defensive mindset in order to break the barriers Spieth and McIlroy have in recent years.
- The importance of the wedge game is vastly overrated by golfers
  - I feel that the average golfer can take note of this and use it to improve their game. Realize that the area where you most frequently hit shots may not be the most important part to lowering your handicap. Often times, the area where a golfer most frequently hits shots is the result of hitting poor shots from a more important area. If an amateur chunks 160-yard approach shots repeatedly, they may be left with more 40-yard shots into the green. They could improve their scores more rapidly by learning to hit the 160-yard shots better, instead of focusing on the leftover 40-yard shots.
  - Analyzing these statistics can also serve as a way to determine a golfer’s best bag setup. Perhaps golfers may want to leave that gap wedge at home in order to carry that extra long iron or hybrid so they are properly gapped on their long approach shots. And it can help the golfer understand what exact length putts are more important in lowering their scores, too.