ALCOAST 075/19 - MAR 2019 2018 COAST GUARD CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (CFO) AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

R 120816 MAR 19
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-8//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS //N01650//
ALCOAST 075/19
COMDTNOTE 1650
SUBJ: 2018 COAST GUARD CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (CFO) AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 191004 NOV 18, ALCOAST 390/18
B. Recognitions Program Manual, COMDTINST M1650.26 (series)
1. The Coast Guard Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Awards for Excellence recognizes individuals
and teams who made outstanding contributions to Coast Guard operations in the fields of
financial management, comptrollership, acquisition, procurement and logistics.
2. I am honored to announce the 2018 CFO Award winners:
    a. Commissioned Officer O-4 and above: CDR Chad Brick, Financial Management and Procurement
System-Business Process Re-engineering (FMPS-BPR), Washington, DC. CDR Brick developed
innovative finance processes and technological tools to maximize delivery and stewardship of
operational commanders’ fiscal needs at anytime and anywhere. He created and continuously
updated the Coast Guard Common Core (CGCC), a web-based, workflow management application that
standardized, streamlined and automated more than 115 financial processes, saving approximately
260,000 man hours annually and enabling more efficient processing of $3.4B in transactions
during routine and emergent conditions. The CGCC provides the platform for financial professionals
to obtain, track, and account for the goods and services needed to meet all of the Service's
operational and mission support needs in an ever increasing complex environment.
    b. Commissioned Officer up to O-3: LT Ronald Miller, District Seventeen, Juneau, AK. As the
D17 Budget Officer, LT Miller championed a functional analysis of CG Arctic operations
significantly improving operational effectiveness through better allocation of funds within the
$3M annual program. He examined Arctic operational requirements and priorities employing lean six
sigma concepts to identify and redesign inefficient processes achieving $250K in cost savings to
meet other operational requirements. LT Miller centralized management of all Arctic travel
decreasing support staffing by half. His careful evaluation of aircraft maintenance requirements
and the associated support contract saved $50K, and increased Arctic aviation presence by 12.5%.
LT Miller’s efforts directly increased operational productivity by 7% and improved operator
and public safety in an unforgiving environment.
    c. Civilian Employee GS-13 and above: Candace Mianulli, Coast Guard Finance Center (FINCEN),
Chesapeake, VA. An innovative leader, she prepared FINCEN to perform more financial services for
outside agencies through a clear vision to standardize all FINCEN control monitoring for CG and
TSA. This resulted in completion of a control-testing guidebook for the 30 process areas tested
at FINCEN, allowing CG Headquarters and external agencies to increasingly rely on FINCEN control
testing. She implemented monthly reviews of Corrective Action Plans, empowering 15 members of the
internal control staff to follow up on deficiencies with each process owner, building a culture
of actively strengthening internal control weaknesses, and reducing average control exceptions
from 9% to 3%.
    d. Civilian Employee GS-9 to GS-12: Paula C. McDaniel, Coast Guard Yard, Baltimore, MD. The
CG Yard Fund Accountant, Ms. McDaniel identified a required $1.5M adjustment to the payroll that
corrected a long-standing discrepancy with Treasury reconciliation and brought the accuracy from
70% to 99.75% by the end of 2018. She worked with FINCEN and Headquarters personnel to track down
detailed payroll documentation from five prior fiscal years to document the necessary corrections.
Ms. McDaniel quickly developed new and improved processes with FINCEN, division personnel, and
COMDT (CG-83) staff to ensure the high level of accuracy was maintained and future differences were
quickly identified and corrected. The final result is a methodology and instruction for payroll
reconciliation that not only ensures financial accuracy of DHS's largest industrial operation,
but also supports DHS audit readiness.
    e. Chief Warrant Officer: MED2 Mary G. Davenport, Health Safety Work-Life Service Center
(HSWL), Norfolk, VA. As a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), CWO Davenport exhibited
exceptional acumen and drive by earning level II COR certification and overseeing several highly
complex, multi-disciplinary contracts annually valued at $20.6M. During a severe medical personnel
shortage, she was critical to realizing innovative solutions that rapidly expanded the contract,
recruiting 16 clinicians and 12 Medical Assistants, ensuring the continued viability of organic
healthcare delivery for CG crews. CWO Davenport also identified a $680K recurring monthly invoicing
error and enacted a staffing vacancy penalty, recouping $25K per month, saving millions of dollars
over the five-year contract. Her individual effort increased personnel readiness and ensured crews
were ready to serve and protect the American people.
    f. Enlisted Personnel E-7 and Above: SKC Hugo R. Cabrera, MSST Seattle, WA. SKC Cabrera’s
outstanding professional expertise and scrupulous attention to detail resulted in disposing of a
$1.4M Integrated Anti-Swimmer System for MSST Seattle and MSST Honolulu. His relentless drive and
expertise as a Contracting Officer were essential in ensuring $17,000 worth of meals and lodging
were secured for a PSU 305-led international Adaptive Force Package that provided maritime security
to Papua New Guinea during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. Going beyond his financial
duties, SKC Cabrera was a Remote Operated Vehicle operator and SIGNALIS radar watchstander between
U.S. and Canada overseeing Coast Guard small boat patrols in real time. His bias for action and
excellence in job execution ensured the MSST was ready and responsive to all operational mission
assignments.
    g. Enlisted Personnel E-6 and Below: SK3 Sonya J. Calihan, Base Cleveland, OH. As Base
Cleveland's Property Administrator and Transportation Agent, SK3 Calihan demonstrated critical
foresight in preparing and implementing two FMPS-BPR Pilot Programs for all of D9. Her expertise
within the Property Administrator Centralization Pilot relieved 302 supported units of a collateral
duty by identifying efficiencies through consolidation. SK3 Calihan successfully centralized
shipping and FedEx approval for D9 customers by developing an on-line request process and user
procedure guide. This process reduced District Transportation cost by 20%, met same day obligation
requirements, created an electronic repository for document retention and was adopted by all
FMPS-BPR'd Districts. She also developed a MILSTRIP catalog focused on reducing administrative
timeframes associated with Purchase Cards and required sources of supply. Her individual
contributions and extra effort ensured the success of FMPS-BPR with improved service delivery to
operational commands.
    h. Team Award: Coast Guard Yard Working Capital Fund FY18 Budget Development and Execution Team,
Baltimore, MD. The team's superior Planning and Estimating skills coupled with expert project
oversight and execution of the Yard's Working Capital Fund (WCF) enabled the CG to save over
$2.2M in FY18 and nearly $10M in out-year funds. Using two innovative methods to forecast production
hours, they accurately developed and executed annual revenue projections, labor rate pricing, and the
budget for DHS' only shipyard and largest industrial operation. In FY18, the Yard generated over
$103M in revenue, including $53M in maintenance to extend the service life of the CG's fleet of 225'
ocean going buoy tenders and 140' ice breaking tugs. The team's innovative forecasting techniques
enabled the Yard to close out FY18 within 0.5% of the revenue estimates. They also accurately
projected overhead costs and ensured compliance throughout the year with the budgetary controls,
enabling the Yard to lower the composite labor rate by 8.79% in real inflation terms to levels not
seen since 2012! The team consists of:
       (1) Timothy D. Howard (Team Lead)
       (2) James L. Hoehn
       (3) Christian K. Wooden
       (4) Alexandre K. Brink
       (5) Paula C. McDaniel
       (6) James R. Bauernschmidt
       (7) Denise L. MacDonald
       (8) John A. Rider
3. I heartily congratulate all nominees and award winners on their accomplishments, and commend the
entire financial management community on all ongoing work that is improving delivery of CFO services,
and finding better ways to support operational commanders and mission support professionals. The
innovative and dedicated efforts done every day throughout the Coast Guard to manage our financial
resources were reflected in all of the nominations submissions. Thank you for all you do to ensure
our Service is Ready, Relevant and Responsive.
4. The Coast Guard CFO award winners will be contacted individually regarding award presentation.
POC: Dr. Dianne Trawick, COMDT (CG-81) at Dianne.S.Trawick@uscg.mil or (202)372-3722.
5. RDML T.G. Allan Jr., Assistant Commandant for Resources/Chief Financial Officer, sends.
6. Internet release is authorized.