Page 13 - FCA Diamond Point Dec 2023-1

FROM THE FIELD

US Army Financial Management Command
(USAFMCOM) Corner (Cont’d)

legacy of excellence older than our nation itself,” said Brig. Gen. Paige M. Jennings, USAFMCOM
commanding general. “We bring forth distinguished service and lineage of the 45th into the
USAFMCOM family – a merger that couldn’t be more critical given the uncertainty in today’s world,
full of its own challenges.”
And, meeting those challenges will take the financial management and resourcing that only the
now reactivated 45th FC is now poised to provide as the Army’s sole financial management center.
“The 45th FC is not just a unit,” said Lt. Col. Jason Shick, 45th FC acting director. “It’s a symbol of
our Army's recognition of money as a weapon system to sustain our Army, deter our enemies and
crush our adversaries, if called upon to do so.”
The activation of the 45th FC stems from a series of changes to the Army’s Finance Corps outlined
in a Force Design Update Jr. that was signed earlier this year.
Per the FDU Jr., it was determined by Army senior leaders that commanders’ reach from the
battlefield to the Joint Strategic Support Area for finance operations was not aligned to support
large-scale combat operations and multi-domain operations necessary for the 21st Century.

It was also determined that theater-level planning across the Army was limited in tactical and
operational finance synchronization, coordination and integration.
“These challenges hindered finance units from providing support and services to ensure freedom
of action, operational reach and prolonged endurance to operate during the continuum of
competition, crisis and armed conflict,” said Donald Houston, USAFMCOM Strategic Initiatives
Group director.
“Our world is marked by rapid change, evolving threats and complex financial challenges,”
elaborated Shick. “Our mission is more critical than ever, as we ensure that the financial
machinery of our Army remains robust and efficient – supporting our Soldiers in their mission to
protect and defend our nation and its Constitution.

“Make no mistake, we are primed to meet these challenges head-on, adapting and evolving, just as
the world around us does,” he continued. “But, this time, we must do it faster than ever before, and
more importantly, faster than our adversaries.”
As USAFMCOM’s operational arm and early deployer, the 45th FC is required to be ready to deploy
at a moment’s notice. To accomplish this, 45th FC Soldiers will be assigned to USAFMCOM but will
be located with Regular Army Theater Sustainment Commands.

Once fully operational, 45th Finance Center Soldiers will conduct theater preparation operations;
provide timely procurement and theater disbursing support through the establishment of central
funding operations; enable joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational operations;
establish, coordinate, maintain and troubleshoot finance systems used in theater; and enforce
policies and guidelines established by the Department of the Army and strategic enablers.

“We will be the Finance ‘tip of the spear,’” said Shick.
Being at that point of attack is not something new for the 45th FC, which draws its legacy back to
World War II when the unit was first activated in 1943 as the 45th Finance Disbursing Section here
on Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis – nearly in the exact location where it was reactivated 80
years later.
“Our nation was facing a new threat and warfare was advancing at lightning speed,” said Jennings.
“Our Army needed a unit that could provide critical financial support across the European theater.”

Upon deploying to the United Kingdom in 1943, the 45th FDS initially supported the 1st
11
Bombardment Division of the 8th Army Air Force, earning a Presidential Unit Citation for the air
offensive in Europe.
Landing in Normandy just one month after D-Day, the 45th FDS served through the Normandy,