Photo By Tarah Jackson | Soldiers of the Indiana National Guard's 177th Finance Detachment hold a final...... read more read more
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. – The Indiana National Guard's 177th Finance Detachment is returning home Wednesday, May 5, after a one-year tour to Afghanistan at Forward Operating Base Salerno in the Khowst province of eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border.
The 177th conducted a wide-range of finance operations to include administrative pay and finance support in Afghanistan.
Capt. Brett Dunn, the commander, gave a bit of background on his mission.
"One part of our job is military pay, taking care of the troops, making sure they're paid correctly," said Dunn, a Fishers, Ind., resident. "Another part is disbursing, where we basically operate what is like a bank for Soldiers; they can come in and cash checks. Another part of our operation is contract pay, where we're processing all documents for service contracts, purchasing goods and all the support operations that go on to support the mission," he said.
Dunn said things got off to a pretty quick start when the unit first stepped foot in country.
"We were taking care of 12 to 15 thousand Soldiers and finance units usually take care of about five thousand; so things were kind of hectic when we got there," said Dunn.
The commander said his troops, however, did him proud by simply assessing the situation and making adjustments where needed.
"One of our biggest accomplishments was processing contracts," he said. "Let's say [an Afghan contractor] is building something for the government and he submits his bill to the U.S. Army. Before we got there it was taking over 40 days to get that payment back to the vendor," said Dunn. "By the time we left, that processing time was in the 10-15 day range, which really increases the morale and support of the locals for our operations because they get paid a lot faster than they used to."
Spc. David Mowrey, a financial management technician with the 177th, said this deployment for him was very worthwhile.
"I got to see another part of the world and got some good Army experience at the same time," said Mowrey, an Indianapolis resident.
The Soldiers of the 177th are currently at Camp Atterbury completing their out processing requirements before returning home to family and friends. For some, parties wait, and for others – like the commander – vacation is calling. Dunn intends to use his 90 days of leave to vacation in several different places with his wife.
Mowrey also intends to head for the border, saying there were some things he definitely missed while he was away.
"I'm going to Taco Bell!" he said.
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2010 16:40 |
| Story ID: | 49186 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 293 |
| Downloads: | 267 |
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