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RAFINO Report Browsing Old F.C. Journals (Ed. Foreword: The Spring 1998 column finished at the end of
the Mar 54 issue of the FC Journals. Your editor regrets that his file of these journals is missing issues Apr 54 thru Dec 57.
Accordingly, the "browsing" now picks up with the Jan 58 issue - the first issue contained in bound copies so generously loaned
by George Shepard.) The 15 Jan 58 issue contains several
professional articles by current RAFINO members, namely Holt Blomgren whose
Our Finance Corps Reserve detailed the composition and staffing of a surprisingly large FC Reserve. Moving to the Mar 58 issue we find a piece entitled Staff Provides; Line Decides by John Sperry. John examined the expectation of commanders that his financial management staff will assist him in the solution of his Command Financial Management problems, whether they be concerned with operating costs, forecasted financial requirements, or historical analysis of performance. John quotes the then Army Comptroller as recognizing the importance of adequate professional accounting training. John also noted that the Chief of Finance was then currently emphasizing formal training in accounting for all Finance Officers with the expectation that shortly all FC officers would be equipped with the educational equivalent of an academic degree in accounting. J ohn's article covered in great detail the areas of Financial Management concerns such as Cost Consciousness, Flexible Budgets, Internal Guidance, and Utilization of Staff Finance. (Ed: In 1958, John Sperry gave highly valuable and convenient help to many FC officers at Ft. Ben - who were striving to comply with the requirement of the CoF - by conducting special accounting and auditing classes at the FSUSA under formal arrangements with Butler Univ. and Indiana Univ.) A most welcomed item entitled January RA Augmentation listed 46 Regular Army appointments including a number of current RAFINO members, namely: Pete Ashenbrenner, John Bain, Vic Bess, Joe Bowman, Joe Brigandi, Pat Callinan, Bill Coffey, Bill Duffy, Sid Eason, Don Goss, Nate Hanna, Harold Hannaway, Leonard Koehl, George Lassiter, Garland Midgett, Bill Morefield, Jim Shroyer, Frank Tryon. A few other selected personnel actions were: Colonel Haneke was transferred to CONARC from Ft. McPherson. LTC Tom Grissom and Maj Fazakerley were sent off to study at the C&GSC. And LTC Al Abbott retired after 28 years. The 15 April 58 issue contained an article written by LTC
Sid Eason, an ex-Cavalry Officer, commenting on the Mechanization
of Finance and Accounting Offices with an eye-catching introductory paragraph which reads as follows: An interesting chart on military pay rates listed pay and allowances of officers and enlisted from 1865 to 1955. (For 1865 in current dollars the weighted average annual basic pay & allowances for enlisted was $427. For officers it was $1,912. For 1955 it had risen to $2,742 for enlisted and $6,787 for officers.) Nominated for election to the Executive Council of the AFA was a long time member of RAFINO, Robert L. Tracy, who even 44 years ago was the Legal Advisor to the Comptroller of the Army. A few personnel actions affecting current members of RAFINO follow: COL. P.S. Brown transferred to OCF from 1st Army, LTC Ashenfelder went to HQ 6th Army from USAREUR. Maj. Russ Chapin put his Indiana Univ. books away and went to work at OCF. CPT Ralph Dixon reported to the Field Division, OCF at Ft. Ben. CPTs Thomson Bradley, Thayer Dissel, Bill Doss, Bob Doster, Garland Midgett, Hank Miller, Gus Swenson were all sent to the FSUSA. |
"The reactionary has his place and purpose in life.
He appeared on the scene when a stick was tied to a rock. Again when stirrups were used, when the longbow was invented, and
at the advent of the machine gun. He almost washed himself out of the picture when his faithful horse was taken from him and he
was given a tank. * * * Undaunted still, he is still very much with
us. There he sits glowering in the corner, foreboding disaster for batteries of machines busily completing in a few minutes what he
and "the old Army" used to take days to do and more days to correct what was done.
Yes, we are now a "mechanized" Army, No longer does the Army Paymaster roam the prairies as
depicted in brew-backed TV thrillers, payin' 'em as he finds 'em. Today he is appropriately titled Finance and Accounting Officer
and uses the most up to date and efficient systems and machinery in his daily operations.
He is a modern businessman with a full share of responsibilities."
(Sid then went on to describe succinctly the new role of the F&AO in the new and
modern Army.)