'Financing' the fight: life as a Team Pete comptroller

Published Oct. 28, 2014
By Staff Sgt. J. Aaron Breeden
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- It's no secret that Airmen come from all walks of life - even if that walk comes in the form of a mountain of an Airman who would make Dolph Lundgren quake in his boots.

Meet Airman 1st Class David Farrey, a 21st Comptroller Squadron service technician.

After earning his undergrad in criminal justice at Iowa's University of Dubuque, Farrey enlisted in the Air Force and landed a job at Team Pete's finance office after completing basic training and tech school.

Having served for more than a year-and-a-half on active duty, Farrey currently serves as the base's lead defense travel system administrator.

Although the job can sometimes be routine, Farrey attributes his appreciation of a great work environment to his coworkers.

"Everyone has a positive attitude," said Farrey. "We try to get out and do things as a squadron as often as we can."

He added that the optimistic outlook shared by his office helps keep morale high and brings the unit closer together as a whole.

Another hat that he wears is that of cashier - a duty he takes great pride in.

As a cashier Farrey is primarily responsible for disbursements and payouts as well as processing collections vouchers. Since taking the cashier's helm nine months ago, Farrey's efforts have directly contributed to zero loss of funds to date.

"Being able to say I helped contribute to this milestone truly brings a sense of accomplishment," he said.

Above all, however, Farrey stressed that despite the accomplishments of his unit, there are still many negative assumptions about the comptrollers.

"If there's one thing people don't play around with it's their money," said Farrey. "We have a lot less control over paychecks than most people realize. A lot of the control comes from Defense Finance and Account Services."

Although some issues directly related to people's pay may take some time to resolve, most finance-related matters can be handled rather quickly. It's this timeliness that garners the most praise from customers and leadership alike.

"Many customers come into finance with a problem with their travel voucher or similar issue," he said. "We're usually able to help them out quickly and have their problem resolved in a day or two."

In all Farrey said he has enjoyed his time with Team Pete and looks forward to new challenges and future responsibilities as a comptroller Airman.

Comptroller squadron Airman helps with finances