Let's make the FY07 close-out a success Published Sept. 6, 2007 By Brig. Gen. Susan Helms 45th SW commander PATRICK AFB, Fla. -- Sharks, as we come to the close of another fiscal year, I want to commend you on your stewardship in managing our fiscal year 2007 budget. Although, FY 07 officially ends Sept. 30, we are looking at a "soft" closeout date of Sept. 21. The soft closeout provides the Financial Management community, Contracting and the Defense Accounting and Finance Service the opportunity to ensure all final expenditures are supported and accurate before midnight Sept. 30. I need your support in making sure this final campaign of the fiscal year is successful. Your Resource Management Board (RMB) has postured the wing with a comprehensive end of year spend plan that includes a balance of mission, mission support and quality of life requirements. A portion of the plan is already funded with projects beginning in the near future. First, we received facility project funding through Civil Engineer channels that will enhance the facilities and areas where we work, live and exercise. Second, we applied local available funds to provide quality upgrades to the fitness center and ball fields in the base housing area. These are just a few of the projects already being funded using end of year funds. How can you help ensure a successful end of year close out? I'm pleased to say, that you and your unit leadership have been working diligently to identify and submit end of year funding requests. These requests will help us complete some mission and quality of life projects that you thought might not otherwise have received funding this year. As funds become available, FM will be working with your commanders and resource advisors to ensure that we will be ready to execute those requests quickly. You put a great deal of effort into requesting these funds, now it's imperative that all unit resource advisors remain vigilant in working within their chains of command to execute their end-of-year spending plans. While pondering your role in this campaign, keep in mind, the end-of-year close-out is not about pinching pennies. It is about bolstering the mission by making sure we have the right inventories on hand, providing the right training opportunities and the right quality of life enhancements and paving the way to the upcoming year. If we do this right - and I am sure we will - we will position ourselves for even more mission successes in FY 08 than we enjoyed in FY 07. Thanks in advance for another FY 07 success. Go Sharks!