Photo By Stephen Perez | Julijana Halilagic poses for a photo behind her desk at Area Support Group Hanau in...... read more read more
Subscribe
When Julijana Halilagic arrived at her new office all she had on her desk was a telephone and a calculator.
“Do you know how to use the calculator?” her boss asked.
“No,” Halilagic replied.
“Okay, you should do the training first.”
It was June 1, 1979 – Halilagic’ s first day as a budget clerk.
Originally from Bosnia, Halilagic moved to Germany at the age of 13. By the time she finished school, she had learned German, a little bit of English, and studied basic accounting.
But after school, she didn’t know what to do next. That’s when her aunt recommended she try to come and work with her in Frankfurt with the U.S. Army.
Halilagic applied for a position, and after passing an English and typewriting test, she accepted a job working as a budget clerk for the Directorate of Public Works at V Corps Headquarters.
At the time, she thought the job would be temporary.
Instead, it would become a 46-year career in resource management – culminating in Halilagic’s retirement as U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden’s first budget officer.
But before her life’s work could become a reality, Halilagic had to work her way up from the bottom.
In 1991, years into her job in Frankfurt, the Army opened an Area Support Group in Hanau. Halilagic was selected to serve there as budget analyst, having been strongly recommended by her supervisor at the time.
Her career would outlive ASG Hanau. When the installation officially closed in 2007, Halilagic, now an experienced budget officer, transferred to USAG Wiesbaden.
Much of her career predated the Army’s digital General Fund Enterprise Business System, meaning she manually recorded thousands of entries on printouts and spreadsheets to budget complex sums of money.
Before GEFEBS, Halilagic explained that it was standard to save these inputs on a floppy disc and mail it to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service directly.
“I started from a long paper and pencil doing accounting,” Halilagic said. “It was a much, much longer process. Now it happens in seconds, you know. This is a big change. It moves much, much faster.”
This advancement in technology would assist her as she progressed in her career.
FIRST BUDGET OFFICER
When Halilagic became the Garrison’s first budget officer, Halilagic assumed the role of principal advisor for all fiscal matters – responsible for budgetary planning, formulation, and execution of funding for each fiscal year.
Her duties supported the lives of Soldiers, Army Civilians, and their families across the entire Garrison. Temporary duty assignments, playgrounds, housing allowances, and barracks improvements – Halilagic oversaw the finances of an installation with an operating budget of around $200–$300 million per year.
Two of her latest projects included the financing of a new physical training area on Clay Kaserne and a new air traffic control tower, dedicated to Air Force Col. Gail S. Halvorsen, which was officially opened in a ceremony during the Garrison’s 75th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Airlift last summer.
However, one responsibility of hers sticks out above all else — and that is the authorization for travel or lodging for service members and their family members in the event of emergencies.
Authorizing these expenses meant a lot of calls during late nights, weekends, and holidays. Despite this, she said it was an undertaking she always took seriously because it meant assisting others during some of the worst moments of their lives.
“Some people have two days’ time, so when we find out, we have to act right away,” said Halilagic. “Some people, they’re just shocked that much so we need to create a [travel authorization] for them.”
“If I do something, if I can help somebody, it just feels me good…. Taking over the responsibility and making sure something gets done on time — that’s what I like.”
Lawrence Swan, the USAG Wiesbaden director of resource management and Halilagic’s supervisor, expressed that her legacy extends beyond her daily functions and the Garrison itself.
“She was the first Budget Officer for USAG Wiesbaden which means she developed and shaped many of the processes successfully executed by USAG Wiesbaden over the last couple of decades,” said Swan. “Many of the policies and procedures are still in place which is a testament to how effective her methods have been over the years.”
Additionally, Swan said that, through her decades of service, Halilagic contributed to the development of many resources management professionals across theater. She trained and mentored many of her peers, who are now serving or have formerly served with U.S. Army Europe and Africa, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, 2nd Theater Signal Brigade, other Garrisons, and other Army organizations.
“She absolutely loved her job and appreciated the honor of serving as the Budget Officer for USAG Wiesbaden,” said Swan. “Many will tell you that she absolutely cared about the USAG Wiesbaden mission and supported that mission with all her heart. She was a tough supervisor but also a great and caring person when her subordinates needed it.”
This passion is clear in the advice she gives others, like her, who were probably unsure of where to start a career.
After being presented with a coin from Tommy Mize, the director of Installation Management Command — Europe, Halilagic said that she’d continue to share her positive experiences with younger generations.
“The Army is a great employer, and I will tell this to every young person I meet on the street,” said Halilagic. “‘Go and work for the U.S. Army.’ It’s a great place to work and I’m honest about it.”
Most of all, she’ll remember the friendships she made throughout the years.
“I love my job,” Halilagic said. “I did this all this for 46 years. I started as a budget clerk and ended as a budget officer. I’m not going to miss the job, but I’m going to miss all the people.”
These personal connections were most evident during Juliana’s retirement ceremony, when dozens of her colleagues, past and present, came to support her retirement party at the Airlift on Clay Kaserne.
During Halilagic’s retirement award ceremony, USAG Wiesbaden Commander Col. Troy Danderson said that his experience as the Garrison Commander has allowed him to better understand the work employees like Halilagic have done for the military community in Wiesbaden through the decades.
“I do just want to thank you, on behalf of every Soldier, every service member, every PCS-ing family that comes through here,” said Danderson. “They don’t see it, but your impact is palpable – I just want to thank you for that and everything you’ve done for a couple generations of me and mine coming through here.”
LOOKING FORWARD
In her retirement, Halilagic looks forward to sleeping in, painting, traveling, and spending more time with her husband and family.
Reflecting on his mother’s career at her farewell party, Dennis Halilagic explained how much the job shaped both of their lives and allowed him to see Halilagic as more than a mother and budget officer.
“Since my childhood I have memories of going to work, driving with her, and she was always very hardworking, very dedicated, and it always kind of inspired me. Her ethics and her way of handling people and working and actually made me a better worker myself,” said Dennis.
Heeding Halilagic’s advice, Dennis decided to follow in his mother’s footsteps and now works as a management analyst with resource management.
“It’s just inspiring to see her as a supervisor, a hardworking woman, and as a mother.”
| Date Taken: | 09.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.04.2025 04:45 |
| Story ID: | 547193 |
| Location: | WIESBADEN, DE |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, USAG Wiesbaden bids farewell to its first budget officer, honoring 46 years of enabling mission readiness, by Stephen Perez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
