What's Money Got to Do With It?

By Andy Miller

Editor's Note: A guest author submitted the following article based on his recent experience from the PACAF Staff. Money was a consistent topic of conversation between the 13Ms at the various flights and the 13Ms on Staff. He wrote the below article to help those 13Ms in the field that are still not sure how budgets and money work within the AO Enterprise.

Managing resources is a needed skill as a 13M, and the Airfield Operations (AO) resources are vital to your Wing's success. One of those resources is money. As a 13M, if you do not understand money, that skill will be a dull knife in your leadership toolbox. However, if you understand it and speak it correctly, you can spend it like lethal nunchucks.

As you understand what you should be doing as a 13M, you need to acknowledge how you (flight/squadron) fit into the more extensive AF process. First, we must have an understanding of the basic color of money and speak the right finance vocabulary. Once we have the right framework and terminology, we can understand how the Airfield Operations Flight sets their resource requirement for the MAJCOM to validate and fund it. As the money is distributed, the AOF leadership team must have a full understanding of the procurement or purchase process. Since the 35114 [AO allocated] funds are executed at the flight and HAF level, it is critical to understand how programs of record are purchased and sustained. It is essential to understand all these processes, the different types, and the functions of money. This understanding provides a baseline for maintaining your equipment and resources. Without this understanding, you will be blindsided. For example, if you fix a NAVAID depot level repair equipment item with the wrong funding source, you could waste operations and maintenance dollars (and probably eliminate your entire flight budget). This is because the program office and centrally managed MAJCOM funds pay for these equipment items. If this last sentence went over your head, this article would serve you well.

How do we maintain our equipment/resources? This task is completed with a full understanding of how money works. You may often hear about the color of money. The first color of money is called (O&M) operations and maintenance. It is also sometimes called 3400 money because that is a federal government funding code tied to it. This money is used to perform operations and maintenance on current operations and fielded systems. This is the money everyone in the unit is accustomed to. For any Airfield Operations Flight Commander, this money is allocated for ATCALS, which is the 35114 Program Element Code (PEC). You use this money to fund TDYs, flight progress strips, tools for RAWS, maintenance contracts for uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems, cleaning contract for the tower window washing....and much more.

AOF Teams Set the 35114 Fund Requirements

How do you obtain O&M money? From the flight or squadron level, you must request O&M money. The AOF/CC requests money based upon requirements. The AOF/CC communicates their requirements through your Wing's request process, and most Wings submit an excel spreadsheet. Too many times, this spreadsheet is just recycled every year, and the AOF/CC never sees it or is asked for inputs. You need to ask your comptroller office, squadron, or group resource advisor on the requirements that were submitted for the upcoming year. Your requirements are submitted within the 35114 PEC because 35114's function is ATCALS support. As your Wing submits its O&M budget to the MAJCOM and HAF, the 35114 PEC money is part of this budget. As an AOF/CC, you should be working with your MAJCOM 35114 PEM money manager as your budget is submitted through your Wing. This will ensure a smooth coordination process.

How do I build a plan to spend the money? In preparation to spend the 35114 O&M dollars, the AOF/CC needs to have a spending plan or blueprint of how you are going to spend the money. If you are a new 13M to a base, you should be asking where the submitted 35114 O&M spend plan is, and when is the next fiscal year spend plan due? Your spend plan is your plan or vision for your flight. As you go through the year, you need to consistently refer to your plan. You can and should change your plan based upon mission needs, but it should be a conscious decision. Your success will be determined by how well you plan and align that plan to your money/resources. Fundamentally, planning is the responsibility of an officer. (Editors Note: This topic will be expanded upon in an upcoming article titled The Out & Up vs. The Down & In which will generally discuss the roles of Officers and Enlisted within an AOF).

MAJCOM Provide 35114 Resources to the AOF Teams

How does the flight receive these 35114 funds from the MAJCOM after the flight submits their requirement? The MAJCOM 35114 Program Element Code Manager validates the Wing's 35114 requirements. Once the DoD budget is approved, the money flows to the MAJCOM and is sent to the Wings. The money is sent from the MAJCOM to the Wing under the ATCALS function based upon the submitted requirement. This money (35114 O&M) does not belong to the AOF, but rather it is to be spent as a function of ATCALS. It is a small and important distinction. The AOF has the most (if not all) ATCALS spending requirements. It belongs to the AOF as much as it belongs to the Squadron, Group or Wing. There must be an acknowledgment that you are a temporary steward but a permanent decision-maker. Don't use this chain of command concept as an excuse to pass off ownership. You must take ownership, great leaders always do.

After reading all of this, it is imperative to keep in mind a few simple items to keep your head above water. Do not utilize 35114 ATCALS funds to fund weather-related operations and maintenance items. Work with your weather flight commander counterpart to ensure your RAWS Airmen have their weather tools and maintenance requirements identified through the 35111 PEC (Weather function). Do not order ATCALS non-fly DLR parts from operations and maintenance funds. You will spend $80K on 1 NAVAID part and have no money left. Because this is a complicated issue, the 13M must be engaged with the RAWS SNCO and MAJCOM RAWS MFM.

HAF Programs of Record Procurement and Sustainment

How do we pay for the maintenance of a system of record? In other words, how do we pay for the broken TACAN? The AOF/CC can't possibly be expected to budget for considerable cost, very technical items like the TACAN. The good news, for the most part, you don't! The AF corporate structure has developed program offices to manage programs of record. Programs of record consist of most equipment/programs you can think of; F-16s, A-10s, ILS, TACAN, ETVS, DALR...and so on. These programs of record require maintenance as well. These maintenance funds are centrally managed at MAJCOM and executed through the supply system. If you need a system of record fixed, you simply order a part through the supply system, and a MAJCOM centrally managed account pays for it with little involvement from you. The centrally managed account is used for depot-level repairable (DLR).

ATCALS programs of record are maintained with non-fly DLR money. Please remember, non-fly DLR money is still operations and maintenance money identified as a 35114 PEC function. This is because non-fly DLR money's function is the maintenance of the existing ATCALS program of record. You don't have to worry about budgeting and spending 35114 O&M depot level repair money because it is the duty of the program offices for our ATCALS programs of record. Thank you AFFSA [Air Force Flight Standards Agency] and AFLCMC [Air Force Life-Cycle Management Center]! This program of record process is also why the AF can fly the B-52 for 75 years. The AF understands sustainment for programs of record. (NOTE: non-fly DLR funds are also referred to as XD2, and O&M funds are also referred to as XB3)

How does the AF purchase new systems because we can only spend O&M money on operations and maintenance? There is another color of money called procurement money. It is also sometimes called 3080 money because that is a federal government funding code tied to it. For a good reason, Congress limits the federal government from purchasing new programs of record because, after all, the maintenance of new systems becomes expensive. The more programs procured, the more maintenance and sustainment are required. Since the purchase of new systems are only purchased through procurement money, how do we purchase new ATCALS systems? The purchase of new ATCALS is made through the lead command. The ATCALS lead command is AFFSA. One of AFFSA's responsibility is to collect all MAJCOM requirements and present those requirements as a consolidated list to the HAF procurement list. AFFSA hosts the Lead Command Advisory Group (LCAG) with representatives from all MAJCOMs to discuss the procurement priority of ATCALS.

At the LCAG every year, the Airfield Operations community produces a 1-n priority list of the programs we want to purchase. The function of this money is ATCALS, what PEC do you think this is spent under? Yep, 35114 PEC. You, as a flight commander, can establish a requirement for a program of record. For example, you can submit a requirement through your WG/CC and MAJCOM to AFFSA for a new program of requirement. For example, if you want an ILS on your second runway, you can submit it as a validated requirement through your Wing leadership. As a flight commander, you can have direct input to the AF procurement process by identifying what the unit actually needs.

I am not a full expert on procurement dollars, and I know AFFSA has better SMEs on this topic. I wanted to briefly touch on it because it is essential to understand these two different main types of money; O&M and procurement. There are a lot of other colors of money that I won't touch on since they have to do with developing new technology through test/evaluation and other factors. There is one specific color of money you are very familiar with. Take a look at your UMD and find what PEC funds your entire flight's monthly salary...I bet you can guess it; its function is ATCALS support!

In summary, this entire conversation is about executing the mission by managing your resources through the first question asked, how do I maintain our equipment/resources? If you want to take the next step in your leadership development, ask, do I have the right equipment/resources for our assigned mission?

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About the Author: Andy Miller is an active duty 13M who has experience at just about every level of the 13M Careerfield Diagram. He has deployed more than the average 13M, mostly to the CENTCOM AOR. He also enjoys a game of golf every now and then, and rumor has it that he once even shot below an 80 for a round, but no one was there to verify the facts.