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RAFINO Report Browsing Old F.C. Journals (A reminder: Your editor has been entrusted by Peter Gerhards, George Shepard, and Carl Rotz with their treasured, personal copies of the Army Finance Journal. These date back to April 1953 and run up thru June 1972. The early issues were monthly, on 8 pages of newsprint. It was not long before the format became slick paper magazine style with a very professional appearance. The content ranged from professional articles, news about units and FC members, official orders, rosters, and plenty of photos of the Finance Family.) Here are more excerpts: Dec 53: A very important item appeared in this issue which announced the transfer of the Transportation Division from the Washington, D.C. FOUSA to FCUSA, indicating that 40% of its employees planned to move with the office. Posing with the other members of the then Memphis FOUSA and looking very serious was our then 1st Lt. Thayer Dissel. Personnel changes pertained to these RAFINO members: Capt. John Strachan was ordered to OCF; 1st Lt. Clint Jetmore headed for a S&F assignment with the FSUSA; Capt. Mike Elias found himself ordered to the Logistics Command at Ft. Bragg, NC; and, Ft. Riley, Kan. rolled out its red carpet to welcome 1st Lt. Ted Pickett; Maj. John Cole found he was assigned to Camp Chaffee, Ark.; and, of course, some got their shots and packed for overseas assignments including: Capt. Bill Doss embarking for Army Forces, Far East, and at the same time Maj. Harlow Powers and Capt. Frank Tryon became assets of USAREUR; while Lt. Col. Leroy Leger called USARCARIB home. Feb 54: One front page item notes that the Army Audit Agency was searching for 500 civilian auditors to be employed by Jun 55. There was a Congressional mandate to bring about improved auditing of Industrial Contract Costs and Internal Audits of the U.S. Army. An interesting article telling of the long history of Ft. Sam Houston highlighted the role of the post F&AO who at that time was Lt. Col. Fred Huston whose photo was included. A brief note told the readers that the movement of the Retired Pay Branch from the FOUSA, Washington, D.C. to the FCUSA had been completed. A new Comp Gen Decision held that female officers were entitled to increased basic allowance for quarters only when a dependent husband was "in fact" dependent upon the wife for over half of his support! Capt. Harvey Piper's dandy article on "Schools for Reserves" appeared in this issue explaining the opportunities for attendance, location of the schools, and how reservists could go about getting information for applying. This issue also covered in great detail the reports and recommendations of the Committee on Army Organization especially as pertained to Organization, Programming, Budgeting and Accounting Reporting. The "Comptroller Concept" was one of the milestone moves. It included the placing of the Office of Chief of Finance under the Comptroller - but for only those functions for which the Comptroller of the Army was responsible while keeping the OCF as an independent staff agency. An article on the Camp Chaffee, Ark. Finance Office mentioned some of our RAFINO folks assigned there to include Col. Clyde Martin who was taking over the account from Maj. James (?) Isbell, his predecessor. (Ed: By any name we know that the handsome lad in the photo is Joe Isbell, not James.) Personnel actions were: 1st Lt. Don Gary was sent to enjoy the delights of Ft. Monroe, Va.; as off to Army Forces, Far East went Capt. Mike Ebetino; and to Europe headed 1st Clay Nevling. Mar 54: The article on the F.O., Ft. Meade, Md. noted that Maj.
Tom Olver was assigned as Chief, Personnel and Management Div. of that huge office.
Also a separate article highlighted the role of Maj. John Cole, as the comptroller assigned to the
Director of "Exercise FLASH BURN", a large maneuver in North Carolina involving airborne forces.
John's next assignment was also announced, i.e., to the Far East. Back when getting a Commendation Ribbon with Metal Pendant (since converted to The ACM) was a big deal, one of our lads, Thayer Dissel, received it as recognition for his service as the F.O. of the Eta Jima Specialist School, in Japan. Also reported: Lt. Col. Frank Bigley was commended for his part in the then just completed Class Q Allotment Investigations. Also some Personnel Actions--: Col. Arles "Hank" Miller was moved to OCF, and Maj. Bill Packett went off to Governors Island, NY; while WOJG Bob Kennedy and 1st Lt. Jack Ingles headed to AFFE. Detailed among others as umpires for LOGEX-54 were: Lt. Col. Viron E. Bird, Maj. Joe Brigandi, Maj. Forrest McKeown, and Capt. Paul Barnhill. Personnel Changes: To FSUSA: Lt. Cols. John Bang, and Harry Perry, along with Maj. Walter Grandjean, and Capt. Charles Landis. Capt. Frank Clayton to the Presidio of S.F., Maj. Jim Vaughn to Ft. Worth, 1st Lt. Lynn Rohde to Alexandria, VA., and Lt. Col. Ming Rose to 6th Armd Div. Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. Lt. Col. Fred Huston's attendance at C&GSC at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. was heralded. And, also, 1st Lt. Rex Dittamore was pointed toward USAREUR. |