Page 3 - FCA Diamond Point Sept 24_Edits

FROM THE CHIEF OF THE CORPS

Finance and Comptroller Teammates,

I am truly honored and humbled to serve as the 43rd Commandant of the Finance
and Comptroller School (FCS) and Chief of the Finance Corps. I offer my
heartfelt thanks and deepest appreciation to COL Michelle Williams for her
phenomenal leadership, commitment to excellence, and significant contributions
to shaping the Finance Corps for the Army of 2030. In a short time, the impacts
of her exceptional leadership were felt across the enterprise. Although COL
Williams departed the FCS for her new role as the Commander, United States
Army Financial Management Command (USAFMCOM), she will remain actively
engaged and connected with the FCS as these two great organizations work COL LE’IATO
together to develop leaders and subject matter experts in our profession to
support multiple Army mission sets.

As I assumed the role and responsibilities of Commandant/Chief of Corps, I am all-in to work and
collaborate with the FCS staff, the FC leaders and Soldiers, the Finance Corps Association (FCA),
and other key stakeholders to identify capability gaps and develop bridging strategies to ensure
our formations are fully trained (both tactical/technical) and empowered to meet current and future
requirements of a transforming Army. Furthermore, ensuring the right leaders and Soldiers with
relevant skill sets are placed in the right jobs at the right time and place to provide decision-
makers with valuable, timely, and reliable information needed for sound resource decisions that
impact operations and unit readiness.

I’ve been in the seat for about a month and will pick up where COL Williams left off as focus areas;
updates to the institutional products that support operational efforts; finalize FM 4-80 (Finance and
Comptroller Operations); updates to the individual, collective, and mission essential tasks; and
update training products within the institutional domain. Furthermore, the team will prepare for the
FC Force Design Update (FDU) Table-top Exercise to identify gaps and develop bridging strategies
for the shortfalls. A lot of moving pieces, but the motivated and competent Training Development
Directorate, Fielded Force Integration Directorate, and FCS staff will get it done.

As the Army continues to push the focus on analytics, the FC branch has led the way on this
initiative, setting conditions for other Centers of Excellence to follow suit. The partnership with the
University of South Carolina and our internal data analytics program has paid dividends but it
needs some adjustments to ensure our NCO PME (AC/RC/NG) receives the right amount of data
analytics training hours. The FCS will leverage CASCOM for any support on data analytics
training, for both students and instructors, in anticipation of operating under a fiscal constraint
environment.

Finally, thank you to the Finance Corps Association for the selfless and endless support provided
to the entire enterprise. I look forward to working with you and moving the FC community to
continue achieving success and excellence to enable better support for the enterprise.

To Support and Serve,

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