Message from the National President.

This edition should arrive shortly before our national Professional Development Institute (PDI) in Denver, Colorado, on May 28-31, 2002. Hosted by the Mile High Chapter, this year's PDI theme is "Salute to Financial Management," and it will be an outstanding professional development opportunity for our financial management community.

Dr. Dov S. Zakheim, Under Secretary of Defense, Comptroller/Chief Financial Officer, will open the event and share with us his vision for financial management within the Department. Service Day activities will feature both plenary sessions and workshops and, for the third year, a special emphasis on Defense agencies and the contributions that they make to the departmental team. As always, a variety of government and private sector lecturers will present outstanding and informative workshops.

Recently, the words modernization and transformation have been used in many contexts. At the PDI, you will be able to gauge the modernization and transformation efforts as they pertain to people, processes, systems, and customer support. The academic but informal setting will provide opportunities for senior- and middle-level managers and those at the working level to exchange ideas and viewpoints.

I realize that funding limitations and other pressures may constrain attendance. To promote distance learning, each attendee will receive a CD-ROM containing many of the briefings. We will also post the presentations on the National Headquarters Web site and publish a PDI follow-up edition of the Armed Forces Comptroller. These attendance alternatives will give each of you the essence of the event; however, nothing is quite like being there. I hope to see you in Denver.

Robert Magnus

Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps

National President