ASMC visits.

The United States Coast Guard Training Center, Petaluma, California.

Ever wonder how or where the Coast Guard trains and educates its Financial management personnel? I posed this question to the American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC) National Vice President for the United States Coast Guard, Captain George Asseng. "Why," said he, "we do this at the Coast Guard Storekeeper School in our training center in Petaluma, California. You really should see it!"

And so, finding myself on the West Coast for a number of ASMC speaking engagements, I did.

Serious Business in a Natural Setting

Petaluma is about fifty miles northwest of Oakland. Afternoon traffic necessitates that one allow two hours for the drive. The day I arrived in Oakland was sunny and cool; and as I headed north, the country became very scenic--rolling hills of tall, dry grass contrasted with stands of fifty-foot-high live oak trees, trunks gray and leafy tops bright green. A wonderful locale for any school, I thought.

Turning off the freeway and passing through the small town of Petaluma (population, 55,000), one drives 10 miles west toward the ocean. A left-hand turn onto Tomales Road leads to the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center, situated on the left.

I found the Juliet Nichols Building, an attractive and very modern concrete building, which houses the Storekeeper School. The building is named in honor of Juliet Fish Nichols, who was keeper of the Point Knox fog bell in San Francisco Bay. On July 2,1906, Juliet Nichols, having discovered that the bell's clockwork had malfunctioned during a thick fog, struck the bell by hand to warn incoming ships. Two days later when the clockwork again malfunctioned during another thick fog, she labored for over a 24-hour period, striking the bell by hand (2 blows every 15 seconds). She later received a letter of commendation from the Lighthouse Board for her dedication to duty. The Juliet Nichols Building is a special tribute to her memory.

Storekeeper Master Chief Petty Officer Dennis Michnick, who is in charge of the school, met me. Master Chief Michnick has been with the Coast Guard since 1987, having had prior service in another component. He is every inch a professional and spends significant time with the students as they go through the school.

"The workforce of just over 1,200 storekeepers are the logistics specialists of the Coast Guard," he stated, "and often they have to work alone with small units or ships, so they really have to know their business. They all don't get here right after basic training since the course is on a waiting list; so many already have had some experience. We maintain a good learning atmosphere here."

Master Chief Michnick explained that the Storekeeper School shares the training facility with the Yeoman School (personnel) and with food-service training. "We have the finest galley in the Coast Guard as a result," he said with a grin.

Storekeeper School--Financial Operations...and Forklift Operation?

The Storekeeper School teaches three courses. The first and major course is the nine-week Storekeeper "A" School, where new Coast Guard personnel acquire their military specialty. The apprentice-level course introduces basic skills in requisitioning supplies and services, property management, inventory management, material shipping and receiving, material handling equipment, financial data entry and maintenance of financial records, correspondence, leadership, and personal wellness. The course graduates 150 students each year.

Coast Guard is, during peacetime, a component of the Department of Transportation, not the Department of Defense. Students train on computers using Coast Guard-specific and commercial software applications including the Coast Guard's Large Unit Financial System (LUFS), which is a key part of their training. Coast Guard has its own finance operations center located in Chesapeake, Virginia.

The Storekeeper School teaches two short courses (4 days), both "C" schools. The first one is the LUFS Basic Course, designed to instruct beginning-to-intermediate LUPS users. The course covers accounting and document number systems, transfer of funds, MIPRs, bankcard and miscellaneous document transactions, posting transactions in the LUFS NT local ledger, and report generation.

The second course is the LUFS Reconciliation Course, which, as its name suggests, covers reconciliation and report verification. The course also addresses applicable financial management subjects. Approximately 6 to 8 of the short courses are taught each year, based on Coast Guard demand levels. The school graduates approximately 120 students annually.

The Storekeeper School is a busy place; and, with anywhere from 1 to 3 courses running at a given time and a faculty of 6 (including Master Chief Michnick) to both teach and update course material, the workload is considerable. The "A" school students have a wide variety of skills to master from acquisition to transportation to property management--and even instruction on forklift operation!

In the Fiscal Procedures module of the course, students are taught to prepare orders for supplies or services, purchase order invoice vouchers, government-wide credit card documents, blanket purchase agreements, and requisition and invoice shipping documents. Obligation limits and applicable fiscal law are emphasized, especially as they apply to contracting, purchasing, and the use of government credit cards.

During my visit to the school, I was privileged to observe one of the "A" school storekeeper classes in session. The guest instructor was an actual storekeeper (SK2 Goodman), who had had extensive field experience and was explaining to the young people what they could expect if they were placed in an assignment where they had to operate independently. It was a very interactive discussion, and the students asked penetrating questions.

Impressive Students Performing Impressively

As with other financial management skill-awarding schools I have visited, I must comment on the superb quality and motivation of the young people enlisting in today's armed services. The young seamen I observed are unquestionably sharp and motivated individuals. They will form the backbone of the Coast Guard of the future.

I talked to several during the break and they all thought the training was excellent; it was evident that they liked what they were doing. The instructors noticed this as well and said that the students were like sponges, eager to absorb everything that they could learn.

One of the students observed that the senior teaching staff "spent a lot of time in the classroom working with them, even the Master Chief"--a very impressive compliment.

I spoke at some length with Seaman (E3) Antony Grullon from Puerto Rico about his motivation to enter the Coast Guard, which was very clear. He plans to finish college. His brother is in the Army, but Seaman Grullon wanted to be assigned in California, so he opted for the Coast Guard. I'm sure he will do well.

The school day normally goes from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., after which students are pretty much on their own to study, work out, or whatever. They have integrated living quarters that resemble dormitories.

Coast Guard does not structure a physical training program for its students along the lines of the other military services. Instead, each individual is responsible for participating in a total wellness program, including exercise.

In general, the atmosphere is relaxed, but good student performance is expected, with an examination at the conclusion of each module of instruction.

Jacks-of-All-Trades--and Masters, Too

As it has done for many of the other "A" schools, the American Council on Education has reviewed the course curriculum and has established college credit recommendations for successful completion. The periodic review of the ACE recommendation is due this fall, and the school is preparing for it.

Instructors at the school apply for their positions and must pass an interview as well, so no one is there teaching who does not wish to be. The instructional staff consists of Master Chief Michnick; SKC Palacios, who is a course writer and analyst; SK1 Chris Hedrick; SK1 Leaman Temple; SK1 John Cloutier; and SK1 Juan Fernandez. Further, all instructors teach all subjects, so both variety and flexibility are built into the job.

Coast Guard Financial Management Program

The education of Coast Guard officer financial resource management personnel is not managed at the school, but rather from the opposite coast of the United States at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. With the imminent expansion of the Coast Guard and the very possible restructuring of its organizational placement within the new Homeland Security Department, there is great pressure on the Coast Guard Financial management community.

(Currently, the budget battles are heating up; the administration is seeking $500 million more from Congress for fiscal year (FY) 2004 for the Coast Guard. That's a considerable sum, considering the increased and record-setting budget the Coast Guard received for FY 03.)

Coast Guard is a relatively small service-approximately 39,000 personnel, including civilians. It has 140 officer billets in the financial management career pyramid, which allows officer personnel to build strong careers (there are 7 0-6 billets) by alternating between financial management assignments and operational billets. To permit such rotation, the total officer financial management community is approximately 225.

The following subspecialties exist for Coast Guard financial managers:

* Comptroller. Responsibilities include budget and financial analysis, budget execution and other general comptroller tasks.

* Financial Management. Responsibilities include accounting control, budget formulation, and budget analysis.

* Fiscal Operations. Responsibilities include budget distribution, oversight, and adjustments.

* Supply and Inventory Management. Responsibilities include material inventory and management.

* Supply Operation. Responsibilities include material management budget build and budget execution.

* Resale Program. Responsibilities include all aspects of retail operations.

Lieutenant Commander (0-4) Tom Allan, Chief Financial Management Policy and Programs Division, manages the overall program. He explained to me how the Coast Guard system is set up for office accession into financial management. There are three ways to enter the officer financial management career ladder.

Each year the Coast Guard sends 10 to 12 officers to graduate school to qualify as financial managers. In this program an officer is allowed up to 18 months of fulltime schooling to get a master's degree, preferably an MBA.

The schooling is done at an accredited college or university, either at the officer's present location or at the next duty station. A permanent change of station is generally not done for purposes of attending graduate school.

The second way that the Coast Guard grows its financial management officer corps is through former enlisted SKs who become officers through attending Officer Candidate School or by advancing through the Warrant Officer to Lieutenant Program. Finally, some officers join the financial management officer corps by volunteering for the program after attaining an advanced degree on their own.

Unfortunately, after initial qualification in financial management, there is presently no formal program of continuing education for officers or indeed for the 426 Coast Guard civilian employees. However, the Coast Guard is very active in ASMC and encourages continued professional development at all levels within the workforce. Formal programs are now in the conceptual stages, and we hope to see their progress and success in a follow-up article that I promised to do in two years.

I believe that the financial management personnel of the United States Coast Guard will be able to rise to every challenge in the future due in large part to the excellent preparation they are receiving in the service schools today.

RELATED ARTICLE: United States Coast Guard Core Values

Honor

Integrity is our standard. We demonstrate uncompromising ethical conduct and moral behavior in all our personal actions. We are loyal and accountable to the public trust.

Respect

We value our diverse workforce. We treat each other with fairness, dignity, and compassion. We encourage individual opportunity and growth. We encourage creativity through empowerment. We work as a ream.

Devotion to Duty

We are professionals, military and civilian, who seek responsibility, accept accountability, and are committed to the successful achievement of our organizational goals. We exist to serve. We serve with pride.