The people behind the money-resourcing operation enduring freedom.

Fast Ride to Bag ram Airfield

The C-130 Hercules came in fast and low over the moonlit Afghanistan landscape, its four Allison turboprop engines screaming, closing on the airfield at close to 300 mph. It was November 29, and the area around Bagram Airfield still contained unknown threats such as Stinger missiles and small arms fire. Even with a computer-controlled system capable of launching flares and chaff to deceive enemy missiles, aircraft still are vulnerable to ground fire.

Our pilot, by flying fast and low, was hoping to fly past any threats before being detected. Nervous smiles shared among us belied our apprehension, and the only emotion we let show was the adrenaline-charged excitement that the unknown brings.

This aircraft was filled with some of the first conventional soldiers introduced into Afghanistan, with the fighting still being dominated by Special Operation Forces. We didn't know what to expect that night when we piled onto the plane in Uzbekistan.

As would be expected, there were more people than there were seats available. The pallets, stacked high with badly needed supplies, took up much of the plane's cargo room. Everyone needed to go that night, though, and no one wanted to be bumped. So, eventually, the loadmaster let us on the plane, overloaded rucksacks and all.

The situation inside was anything but a textbook example of how to load an aircraft-there were men piled on top of rucksacks and rucksacks piled on top of men. My legs went one direction, my body another, and my flak vest was riding up around my ears with my Kevlar helmet digging into my head. How long did they say this flight would be? I wondered. I hoped my legs wouldn't be asleep when it came time to hurry off the runway.

I have been on planes since then where the pilots on approach to runways in hostile territory put us through a series of banks, dips, and climbs capable of turning the strongest stomach. That night, however, our pilot chose to just get on the ground as fast as possible. So the ride was smooth, with the building pressure in my ears the only sign that we were descending. That's why the sudden controlled collision with the runway came as such a jolt-I wasn't expecting the landing.

Inside the aircraft, I became disoriented-I heard the roar of the engines as the pilot reversed pitch and applied full power, suddenly braking and sending us sliding forward in our cargo-net seats. We didn't stop, however, and I sensed a shift as the pilot reached the end of the runway and turned the plane around.

The inside of the plane was still dark as the cargo ramp dropped. The engines roared again, and the plane jumped forward with the kind of right-now acceleration you wouldn't expect from a cargo plane. Suddenly, the pallets were cut loose and shot out the back of the aircraft. We're air-dropping the pallets! Am I supposed to have a parachute? Are we airborne or on the ground?

The loadmaster brought me out of my fog.

"Get off the airplane!" he yelled. "Everybody! Now! Let's go!" Suddenly, it was a mass of bodies unfolding, arms and legs everywhere, as we grabbed our equipment and ran for the back of the plane, jumping off the ramp and onto the runway.

Now what? I wondered. Running somewhere, anywhere, seemed to be a good idea. The only thing I knew was that the airfield wasn't the safest place to be, so I followed the crowd, hoping the crowd knew where it was going. About the time that we all cleared the ramp, the engines powered up one more time and 16,000 horsepower worth of hot prop blast-washed over us as the pilot released the brakes and shot down the runway and out of sight.

Only four days earlier, I had been doing my work at a desk in Kuwait, out of harm's way. Now, here I was, part of an assessment team launched at a moment's notice into hostile territory. But I'm a comptroller, I thought. How'd lend up here? Do we do this kind of thing?

Well, we do now. Welcome to the world of the comptroller in unconventional war.

Headquarters Alerted

The road to Afghanistan was a short one. Only three weeks before, Third Army Headquarters at Ft. McPherson, Georgia, had been alerted to deploy to Kuwait to assume its doctrinal role as Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC). After a quick review of Advance Party (ADVON) tasks and hasty good-byes to family and friends, the CFLCCADVON staff was on its way to Kuwait to pave the way for the main body.

The task for Third Army was clearly stated by the Army Vice Chief of Staff: Get over there, take care of business, and don't come back until the job is done. My boss wrote this on his dry-erase board to eliminate any confusion about the importance of our mission.

Comptrollers, Cobras, and a Dusty Russian Airfield

Few people knew about the resource management (RM) team that had already deployed in early November and set up operations in Karshi Khanabad, Uzbekistan (K2). Occupying the long-neglected air base while battling choking dust and poisonous snakes, our "combat comptroller" team was working hand in hand with Special Forces (SF) units. Their task was daunting: establish base operations and support the tactical missions, while operating in a harsh environment and with a limited vendor base for support.

Finding the supplies they needed proved difficult, so they hit the road to Tashkent with a couple of finance soldiers, a counter-intelligence team, and $750,000 in cash. Seven hours of driving and a dozen checkpoints later, with a side trip though Khazakstan, they finally found refuge in the Tashkent Sheraton.

After buying a safe in which to store the money, they made arrangements, paid vendors, and then returned to K2, leaving a contracting officer (KO) and paying agent at the hotel. We didn't hear about this trip until much later because communication was so poor--phone and e-mail connections ranged from dismal to nonexistent, and we often went days without hearing from that team.

Faced with intermittent communications, the RM team often had to act without the benefit of the research and expertise provided by the rest of the Third Army staff in Atlanta. But with a paying agent and KO established in Tashkent, they quickly went to work.

Relying on the promise that money would be forthcoming, team members funded contracts and paying agents both for the base and for soldiers flying off in the dark of night to unknown Locations inside Afghanistan. Falling back on their RM training, team members quickly established the necessary tools: a document register, APC structure, and rudimentary budgets. All the while, they were preparing spending forecasts and sending them to Atlanta for submission to FORSCOM. This was RM at its most basic level.

As a testament to their professionalism, the base has grown from a few hundred soldiers to several thousand at its peak, and the financial framework that team members established is still being used. All the while, the RM operation at K2 has functioned flawlessly, with no end to the operation in sight.

RM Personnel Under Cover and Under Fire

At times, RM personnel had to adopt nontraditional roles to accomplish the mission. Even as the fighting continued, the SF teams desperately needed cash for emergency repairs to the airfield at Mazir-E-Sharif. One of the RM officers stationed at K2 quickly became a disbursing agent, stuffed $250,000 cash into a backpack and, on November 18, rushed out to the airfield in the middle of the night to link up with some SF soldiers.

Stripping him of anything that identified him as a soldier, the SF soldiers hurried him onto the helicopter and they lifted off into the darkness. Those left behind did not know when he would be back.

He didn't know, either. After spending a couple of cold nights under the stars and surviving curious mobs downtown while leasing vehicles, he was treated to a veritable feast at General Dostum's headquarters. His journal entry on November 22 reads, "It has been a great time, but I've had enough...the rest of my stay should be boring."

He had no idea what was in store.

On November 25, just two miles from where he was staying, CIA officer Johnnie "Mike" Spann was shot in the prison uprising at Qala-I-Jangi (Fort of War). Taking up fighting positions in full battle gear, the SF team prepared for the worst. The next day, personnel began to prepare for evacuation as the Special Forces called in close air support on the fort.

Not until midnight on the 26th was the riot finally subdued, and there was only a brief pause until the RM officer was back on the job, buying supplies to replace equipment lost in the revolt. He was finally evacuated by helicopter on December 1, happy to be getting back to K2.

Two weeks in the country had changed him. Sporting a full beard, a new aroma, and traditional Afghani dress, he was nearly unrecognizable, though everyone was glad to have him back unharmed.

In another short-notice mission, an NCO in our shop was appointed as a paying agent and launched out to Kandahar in the middle of December. The Marines had occupied the base, but they lacked the logistical support that CFLCC was able to provide. In an excellent example of joint operations, CFLCC C8 provided the necessary support even as the Marines handed over control of the base to the Army.

While enduring fire fights at night and harsh conditions during the day, he paid vendors and provided personal finance support to both marines and soldiers. Our profession is one of arms, and this operation reminded us that we all are soldiers, regardless of branch or MOS, and it is possible--no, likely-- that we will be put in harm's way some time in our careers.

Meanwhile, Back in Kuwait

The main CFLCC staff flew in to Camp Doha, Kuwait, in late November and immediately assumed command and control of the theater ground operations. For the RM staff, the task was daunting: budget, program, execute, and keep the command informed. Don't worry, we were told, the money is coming. How many times have all of us heard that before?

Operating on a promise of funding, the RM office went to work. The requirements came fast and furious. Purchase requests were first, followed by Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests (coming in and going out), and finally a flood of TDY requests as soldiers were launched into the area of operations. Along with all this work, we got a new name: Coalition 8, or C-8 for short.

We had never undertaken a mission like this, but it didn't take long before the office structure was established. An operations officer is a necessity, as are a travel desk and a management control program section, along with a budget officer assigned to each area of operations.

One of our officers got tapped to join the Officer Planning Group (OPG), a cell staffed with representatives from each section. Working directly for the commanding general, they are responsible for planning all future operations. With experience in combat arms and in finance, he was uniquely qualified to provide input to the OPG on the resource and finance requirements for future missions. After a short time, our staff jelled as we carved out our areas of responsibility.

Follow the Money...

One of the primary tasks, of course, is to establish clear lines of funding responsibility. We continued to be funded through FORSCOM, as we are in peacetime. A clear articulation of requests up the funding chain helped ensure that CFLCC's funding requirements were always met. Certainly, there were some tense situations as the funding dried up, but the requirements kept coming in. They never stopped.

Fortunately, FORSCOM is next door to ARCENT HQ, and, it pays, literally, to have FORSCOM on your side. "Our" FORSCOM budget analyst spent many days in the Atlanta RM office coordinating with our home station staff to understand our requirements. Open and honest communication is the basis of our relationship, and it continues to this day. In a mission this important, with so many agencies competing for money, there is no room for fluff. Requirements must be clearly stated, well documented, and presented in a timely manner.

The Operation Presses On

Even as the XVIII Airborne Corps prepares to assume tactical control of the theater, CFLCC C8's funding mission continues. The systems, controls, and reports we established have worked so well that the leadership has decided to keep them in place. Looking back on the past 7 months since the CFLCC deployed, we can reflect on the resource management operations that have been characterized by speed, flexibility, and accountability.

It is difficult to overstate the scope and the complexity of RM operations in Operation Enduring Freedom. With budgets larger than most of us have worked with, multiple appropriations, the pressures of war, and operations in several countries, in the end it all came down to the people. Quality people. Dependable soldiers. Hard-working civilians. People who make you proud to serve. In the end, that is what made it all work.

Throughout the operation, we had a total of 67 soldiers and civilians contributing to the cause. Some were ARCENT permanent-party soldiers and civilians, some were called up from their civilian jobs to active duty, and others were pulled from their home station units to serve 6 months with CFLCC. In the end, it didn't matter where you came from; we had work to do.

And what a lot of work it was!

The OEF CFLCC budget of over $1 billion was just the starting point. Complicating matters, we still had our normal contingency operations appropriation for Operation Desert Spring--our mission before we became part of Enduring Freedom--and all the work that went along with that mission. Muddying the waters even more were the other "pots" of money with which we had to deal.

For example, the funding for humanitarian assistance and for training of the Afghan National Army (ANA) was so complex that we had to dedicate an RM officer to each mission. The approval procedures for the use of these monies were very detailed and time-consuming.

The funded projects also had visibility at the highest levels of the government. These funds included the Overseas Humanitarian Disaster and Casualty Assistance (OHDACA), CINC Initiative Funds, Presidential Drawdown Authority, and Emergency Extraordinary Expense (EEE). Each was accompanied by a lengthy operations order detailing the uses and limitations of each. In addition to these complex appropriations, our RM teams were quite literally flung throughout the region.

In addition to our home station, CFLCC C8 currently has RM teams operating in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kandahar, Uzbekistan, Bagram, and two in Kabul--one for the ANA and one for the Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force (JCMOTF). Formulating policy and distributing guidance across two continents and four time zones with intermittent communications are difficult at best.

Those who have been working in the budget world longer than a day also know there were the other requisite challenges that never go away. General Accounting Office visits, Program Objective Memorandum inputs, fiscal year 2003 budget development and guidance, coordination with the supporting Defense Finance and Accounting Service site, and the labyrinth known as the supply system demanded the constant vigilance of our home station team.

At times, the tasks seemed almost insurmountable. Fortunately, we had some dedicated experts on our team. And, you know what, we pulled it off!

We did it--against the odds. Never was a mission held up for lack of funds, even when we took risks. Never were there soldiers without the equipment they needed because we couldn't find the money. We came through for them.

There is still work to be done, to be sure. As long as there are those who would deny us our freedom, we will be there. As long as there are those who would deprive our children of the same opportunities we have known, we will sacrifice whatever is necessary. We will make America safe for this next, most cherished generation. We're doing it for them.

The soldiers and civilians of the CFLCC C8 who have made it all possible: COL Billy Smith, LTC Leadbeater, LTC Dennis Reiland, LTC Milt Sawyers, MAJ Geoffrey Ballou, MAJ Rob Borders, MAJ Bill Carson, MAJ Darrell Day, MAJ Marc Frandsen, MAJ Hopper, MAJ Carter Johnson, MAJ Tony King, MAJ Steve Laurance, MAJ Al Marron, MAJ John Matthews, MAJ Montrose Robinson, MAJ Ryan Saw, MAJ Marcia Smith, MAJ John Stevenson, CPT Eric Craig, Capt Shane Goodwin, CPT Aaron Freeman, CPT Earl Glenn, CPT George Harris, CPT Manuel Hernandez, CPT Christina Hemberry, CPT Marcus Hollien, CPT Janice Tutt, CPT Ray Zakary, SGM Shelton Milner, MSG Gregory Mister, SFC Louis Corner, SEC Gary Cruz, SFC Jacquelyn Durhal, SEC Elia Gonzalez, SEC Robert Rideout, SEC Rodney Stephen, SSG Gregory Abbott, SSG Marc Brandt, SSG Welta Dismuke, SSG Walter McGee, SSG Jody Molder, SGT Reginald Jacobs, SGT Tiffany Lynch, SPC Robert Brewington, SPC Darnel Dixon, SPC Michael Mahan, SPC Christi Salemme.

Mr. Edson Barbosa, Ms. Rose Best, Ms. Marilyn Boatner, Ms. Brenda Brown, Mr. Ed Chandler, Ms. Myra Davis, Mr. Norm Dent, Mr. Johnnie Gooch, Mr. Frank Hall, Ms. Mary Hansen, Ms. Heather Hickey, Mr. Joe Legato, Ms. Debbie Linick, Ms. June Maddox, Ms. Penina Miller, Ms. Liana Molder, Ms. Audrey Moss, Ms. Lynn Neal, Mr. Bob Saladino.

Our FORSCOM analyst: Ms. Cindy Fong.

The author thanks all those who generously provided advice and input for this article, and hopes that all will remember the personal sacrifices made and the many hardships endured by those defending America's freedom in distant lands.

Major Geoffrey T. Ballou is a budget officer assigned to Headquarters, Third United States Army, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, Resource Management, Atlanta, Georgia. He is currently serving as the CFLCC C8 budget officer in Ba gram, Afghanistan. He received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Texas Christian University and a master's degree in business administration from Syracuse University Prior to this assignment, he was the budget officer for 1st Armored Division in Germany for 3 years. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. He'll renew his ASMC membership just as soon as he gets back to the States.