Air Force streamlines military, travel pay processes Published Oct. 31, 2007 By Jasmine DeNamur 919th SOW Public Affairs DUKE FIELD, Fla. -- Airmen's travel vouchers and military pay paperwork now travels all the way to South Dakota for processing in record time. Air Force Financial Services Center liaisons briefed wing members Oct. 16-17 on what the new Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. facility has to offer them. As of Oct. 1, travel vouchers and military pay will be processed in five days or less, ultimately transforming the way financial services are given to Airmen, said Ted Sherburne, AFFSC transformation team consultant. "The Air Force has consolidated all 'back-shop' processes into one central processing center," he said. The overall finance transition will occur over the course of a year, separated into two phases. The first phase has already been implemented at some sites, with Eglin Air Force Base and Duke Field being two of the last installations to be fully affected sometime next spring. "The first phase, where the central processing center is stood up, doesn't really affect Airmen now. Everyone will still turn in their pay paperwork to our office and travel vouchers to Eglin Air Force Base," said Maryanne Neumann, 919th Special Operations Wing Reserve pay office chief. The difference, for now, occurs behind the scenes. "We won't be physically inputting the documents into the system," she said. "We'll review the documents for accuracy and then scan them with a state-of-the-art scanner and send them to the center." The process is designed to be seamless. The financial management office at the base level will be able to track documents as they're processed, said Mr. Sherburne. When there are problems with the paperwork, it gets sent back to its local finance office to be corrected, and when it's sent back, it goes right back to its original place, as if it never left the line, he said. The biggest change for the customer will not occur until October 2008, the beginning of the second phase. Next year, a Central Processing Center will be stood up to offer Airmen a 24 hours a day, seven days a week operational full service contact center, said Mr. Sherburne. "You can do this anytime, from anywhere - it doesn't matter whether your pay office closes at 4 p.m. anymore," he said. "We're always up and running to serve you." This instant access service can be utilized via phone, online, e-mail, face-to-face, and by virtually every means of communication possible. The biggest plus about this transition is applying consistency across the board on how all Air Force pay and travel documents are processed, to include continuity between offices, said Ms. Neumann. This is especially helpful for military members who travel frequently. "What we ask in return is for members to be patient with us while we work out the kinks in preparation for the spring," she said. "We too, are getting accustomed to and learning the new program." Hopefully, the units will take into consideration that everything is entirely correct before it's submitted to prevent any setbacks in the time reservists will get paid, she added. Though errors can be corrected quickly, a challenge for financial managers here is getting a hold of a traditional reservist to correct issues, especially for missing signatures. "With three full-timers in the office, it is of utmost importance that all paperwork is carefully reviewed before submission," she said. "We'll still be here to help." Just remember, front line customer service remains at the base level. The finance office has the tools to process your questions even if they don't process your paperwork, said Mr. Sherburne. Members may contact Ms. Neumann by calling 883-6663 or via e-mail at maryanne.neumann2@eglin.af.mil.