Capt. Larry Heath and 1st Sgt. Shavon Jones, Co. C, Allied Forces North Battalion, pause for a photo with Soldiers from the 368th Financial Management Support Unit including Capt. Sheroquai Hansen and Staff Sgt. Brandon Harris during battlefield circulation of their area of responsibility. Heath and Jones visited the 368th Soldiers in Poznan, Poland, to thank them for their assistance with pay issues.
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SZCZECIN, Poland – U.S. Army NATO’s nine company command teams regularly travel around their multi-country areas of responsibility as part of their duty to take care of their assigned Soldiers, civilian employees, and family members.
During a recent trip to Poznan, Poland, the Co. C, Allied Forces North Battalion company commander and first sergeant stopped in for a visit and to thank the Soldiers from the 368th Financial Management Support Unit for their assistance with pay issues.
“The 368th FMSU provides finance support for processing a variety of pay entitlements during Soldiers’ overseas tours,” said Sgt. 1st Class John Rutherford, U.S. national support element noncommissioned officer in charge at the NATO Joint Force Training Centre in Bydgoszcz, Poland. “They also serve as our subject matter experts when checking pay and can identify any missing entitlements and advise on processes to complete documentation required in a timely manner.”
Rutherford added that the gratitude toward the finance unit was especially significant because the backlog of finance actions had occurred during a handoff of mission between two finance units.
“I believe that their support is vital during transitions to all incoming service members and families regardless of if it’s an overseas or stateside assignment,” said Rutherford. “It is a stressful time and successful start of entitlements within first 30 days is necessary due to vast amount of money spent on hotels, food, incidentals, security deposit, realtor fees, and possibly multiple months rent when signing for a place.
“The amount of money spent within the first 60 days in country is at times overwhelming, so their support as if they were in a fully supported garrison enables the family to immerse themselves in the new location and culture,” he said.
“What really made their support outstanding was that Capt. (Sheroquai) Hansen saw a company requiring assistance and voluntarily dedicated themselves to prioritizing our Soldiers’ financial needs to ensure their pay was correct enabling full focus on the mission,” said Rutherford. “Staff Sgt. (Brandon) Harris and the team processed a backlog of over 40 financial actions impacting service members across all our locations.“
